Evil Takes a Vacation
by StarvingLunatic
Summary: Sequel to "The Price of Honor." SheOri. Yori's been living with Drakken and Shego for a year now. When Yamanouchi calls her back, will she stay at her school or fight for her new life? Will Shego fight for Yori? Cover by Alexlayer at deviantart.
1. A year later

A/N: Sorry for disappearing. Real life, what're ya gonna do, right? Anyway! This is the sequel to my SheOri story The Price of Honor. You might want to read that before reading this one. It might help explain why the characters are a little OOC, but then again, it might not. Either way, you'll find the characters to be a little OOC.

Evil takes a Vacation 

1: A Year Later

"Shego, Yori, it's time!" Drakken bellowed, throwing his hands in the air and laughing joyously…or maniacally. It was always hard to tell with him.

"Doctor D, what the hell are you yelling about now?" Shego inquired curiously as she marched into the main control room of the current lair. They had lost quite a few lairs in the past year, but Drakken did not seem too bothered by it because he could now afford it. Without having to pay a horde of henchmen, he was actually saving money. It would seem that he had made a good decision to fire all of the henchmen and hire Yori, even though he did not think it was such a good idea early on.

Drakken was about to respond, but when his eyes fell on Shego, he thought that she knew just what he meant. She appeared to be dressed for it and everything. He grinned, which got wider when he noticed Yori pop up behind Shego. She also looked prepared for what the night held. He actually jumped up and down like a delighted child, making a strange happy hum. Shego regarded Drakken with a half-sneer and an arched eyebrow while wondering what the hell was wrong with him.

"It's Friday," Yori reminded Shego, who had to turn around and look at the ninja. A lighthearted smile adorned Yori's face and realization slapped Shego in the head.

"No, no, no." Shego shook her head emphatically and waved her hands to let them know that was not happening, not _this_ Friday.

"Yes, yes, yes. We've got to get going soon, and I'm happy you're dressed for it for once!" Drakken declared, clapping his hands and continuing to grin broadly.

Shego looked down at her outfit. She was wearing casual clothing with her usual colors, black pants and boots with an emerald form-fitting shirt. Her black leather jacket was resting on her left arm, prepared to put it on when she got to the front entrance of the lair. She rolled her eyes and another sneer tugged at her lips.

"I'm not dressed for that silly crap," Shego replied, appearing quite disgusted that Drakken would think that she would ever, in a million years voluntarily put on good clothes for something so stupid.

"It's not silly!" Drakken argued; Shego would not have paid him any mind if only Yori had not shouted the same thing.

Shego groaned and ran her hand over her face while shaking her head. Over their time together, Yori and Drakken had bonded over the most annoying activity that Shego could think of—karaoke. The first time that Drakken took Yori to sing karaoke, the ninja fell in love with it, really upsetting the balance in Shego's universe.

Well, actually, karaoke was also a good thing in Shego's life, not that she would ever admit it out loud. This was something that Drakken and Yori had bonded over and enjoyed doing together. This _one _thing got Drakken to give Yori a chance and stopped him from talking about sending Yori back to Japan. He had really taken to her after that and she returned the affection, enjoying that he liked her for herself now and not because she was an employee.

Because Drakken got along with Yori, Shego had to take less time screaming at him. This was something that Yori found good. She spoke to Shego about her temper many times and got Shego into mediating, hoping that it would calm her down. It seemed to be working.

"Look, we're not going to do any silly karaoke. It's Friday, past five, and we're off the clock," Shego pointed out, motioning between herself and Yori.

Drakken's brow wrinkled. "So?"

"So, damn it, we're not going!" Shego hollered in frustration. Suddenly, she felt a gentle hand on the small of her back, tracing circles around the base of her spine. She sighed and took a couple of breaths before speaking again. "Look, Doctor D, we're not doing karaoke tonight. We've got other plans," she explained vaguely.

"Other plans? Like what? Maybe I can come along," Drakken suggested with a bright grin. Shego flinched at those words.

"Sorry, but it would not be a good idea, Drakken-san," Yori said, cutting in because she knew that Shego was on the verge of blowing up on their employer. All day, all Shego wanted to do was get out of the lair with Yori and now Doctor Drakken was holding that up. Yori knew that it was only a matter of time before Shego lost it on him and no amount of deep breaths or soothing back-rubs would save him from Shego's wrath.

"What? But, we always hang out!" Drakken whined, making tight fists and shaking them back and forth.

"Doctor D, we don't always hang out. We've gone to do stupid karaoke a few times and that's it," Shego huffed, making tight fists and closing her eyes tightly. She counted to ten in her head, but it was not helping much. She felt a little more pressure on her back and talented fingers eased the tension out of her body.

"What Shego-chan is trying to say, Drakken-san, is that tonight is, what do you call it?" Yori paused for a moment, putting her finger to her chin in thought. "A girls' night out, I believe the term is. We are having a girls' night out."

Once again, a cerulean forehead furrowed. Black eyes were laced with confusion. It was almost as if he did not know that they were girls or that he was not one. The idea tickled Shego while it did not even cross Yori's mind.

"What do you mean?" Drakken asked curiously. He poked his lip out a little, threatening a full-on pout.

"C'mon, Doctor D, you know if it was something regular, we'd be willing to let you tag along, but it's not!" Shego huffed, glaring at her boss as if she was trying to set him on fire with her mind.

Often, Yori could coax Shego into letting Drakken come along on outings. The ninja honestly liked Drakken "off the clock," as she had heard Shego put it. When he was not trying to take over the world, he could be sweet and funny and sometimes he was just as clueless about things as she was. She wondered why he wasted his time with sinister matters and she hoped that one day he changed his mind and tried to do the right thing. Although, as she understood things, he had tried to do the right thing—going so far as to help save the planet—but, for whatever reason, he could not stick to it.

"Drakken-san, please, try to understand," Yori pled, onyx eyes begging.

"But, what about karaoke?" Drakken asked. "Don't you want to go?"

"I would like to go, but Shego has already planned this night out. We will go do karaoke next week, yes?" Yori countered. She would like to do it, but she also wanted to go out with Shego.

"Hell no," Shego said under her breath. She knew that she would be going, though, if Yori went.

"All right, all right. I guess I'll just stay here…alone…" Drakken put on a pout and flashed them sad eyes.

"Okay!" Shego grinned and clapped her hands together, ready to go now that everything was settled.

"Shego-chan," Yori said sharply.

The green-skinned warrior sighed and rolled her eyes. "Next time, Doctor D," she promised, hoping that he would stop forcing out that expression, so that she and Yori could get the hell out of there.

"Uh…okay," Drakken agreed because of the look that both ladies were giving him. Emerald and obsidian implored him to just let them go.

"We'll see you later, Doctor D," Shego said while putting her arm around Yori's waist to lead the ninja out of the room.

"Later, Drakken-san," Yori said politely while trying her best to ignore the look that their boss was giving them as they left. "Drakken-san looks so lonely," she commented.

"He probably is, but we can't take him everywhere we go. It's a date, after all," Shego reminded the ninja.

Yori nodded. "Why is it that we just do not tell him that?" she wondered aloud.

Shego sighed and shook her head. "First off, he wouldn't get it. You know how Doctor D is. We say one thing, he takes it to mean something else and then we have to spend the whole day trying to explain it to him. That's annoying enough when it's something easy. If we told him that we're dating, we'd be drawing him diagrams for the rest of the month."

"Is it such a hard concept?" Yori asked.

"For Drakken, yes. He looks at us all as, you know, an evil family and whatnot." Shego paused and Yori nodded. "By telling him we're girlfriends, it messes up the picture already in his head. Once we mess up that picture, we have to take the time to first erase the image and then draw another image for him. Like when we had to explain to him what hot cereal was and he wouldn't believe us because he thought of cereal as just the sugar with marshmallows and crap," Shego answered.

Yori nodded, as if she understood, even though she did not totally understand. She just believed in Shego and she did know that Drakken had a habit of being difficult when something did not conform to the picture in his head. She supposed that was one of the things that made Drakken insane.

Shego made sure the matter was dropped in favor of more stimulating conversation, bringing up where she was taking Yori tonight. The kunoichi was excited just hearing about it, as always. She held onto Shego tightly all the way to the car, trying to contain herself, but eventually it became too much; this often happened. She began to bounce a little in her seat as Shego drove them away from the desolate area that surrounded the lair. Shego smiled; for some reason, Yori's excitement always flowed into her and filled her with joy. It made going even the simplest or most annoying places bearable.

"I love plays!" the ninja declared while reaching over and clutching onto Shego's arm, despite the fact that Shego was driving.

"I know," Shego replied with a smile. A green hand gently patted the slim thigh in the passenger seat.

Over the past few months, Shego and Yori had both been discovering things that Yori liked beyond manga and anime. All types of comics delighted Yori, which made it very easy to get her gifts. Dates were just as easy because she loved the theater and movies. She loved seeing stories unfold, especially fantasies. Anything with a lot of imagination captured her attention until it was over.

Early on, it was touch-and-go with their dates because they did have to figure out what Yori liked and what Shego was willing to endure. Concerts were out. Yori just could not get a grasp for music, which Shego thought explained why the little ninja enjoyed karaoke so much. Yori had sat through a couple of concerts after that discovery because she knew that Shego was a big fan of all types of music and she also went to clubs for that reason.

Clubbing had been limited recently, even though Shego thoroughly enjoyed that activity. It was just that she knew Yori was terribly uncomfortable in clubs. In fact, Yori stuck to her as if they were glued together whenever they entered a club. Shego figured that they could try the whole clubbing thing again when Yori got used to being in a big crowd without having to watch a target or thinking that someone might attack them. Also, Yori still needed to learn to dance because what she called dancing now was painful to watch; Shego cringed whenever she thought about it.

"Is it a musical?" Yori asked curiously.

"Am I going to take you some place where you'll whine through the whole thing?" Shego countered with a teasing smile.

Yori smiled too, knowing the answer to that. Once again, music was not something that grabbed Yori, so she disliked musicals. They did not make any sense to her. Yes, she knew that it was all make-believe and she enjoyed things that involved imagination, but still, she could not make any sense of musicals. _Why did people always burst into song in the middle of something? _For her, that was just about the most unrealistic thing ever and no amount of imagination would fix that.

"Are we going to eat first?" Yori asked. She just could not sit in silence when in the car with Shego on their way to a date.

"We should have the time for that. Where do you want to go?" Shego countered.

"Oh, Thai! Thai!" Yori cheered.

Shego could not help smiling, just loving the excitement oozing from her girlfriend. "Thai it is." _It's amazing how different she is now compared to when she first came_.

Yori grinned; the expression let Shego know exactly what the ninja was thinking. _Shego, you're the best!_ Yori had said those words often, but her eyes and face said them much more. Shego was stunned that whenever she heard those words or noticed the expression, she felt lighter and her insides quivered with delight.

Shego drove them to a Thai restaurant that she knew Yori enjoyed. Since Shego looked at it as her job to make sure that Yori experienced as much of the world as possible, she made sure that Yori always got a touch of new cuisine when given the chance. Yori now had a top ten list of favorite types of food; the list could be broken down into many different categories. If going by country, Thai food was definitely on the list; West Indian and Indian food also made the list. She loved spicy food.

Shego liked watching Yori eat. It was always an exercise in control and neatness. She used chopsticks for everything that she could. Whatever the chopsticks could not handle, she used a spoon. She always slow and deliberate when eating, trying to take in all of the flavor. Yori had a way of making every meal seem like a religious experience that Shego could not tear her eyes away from.

"Shego-chan, aren't you going to eat?" Yori asked, halfway through her own meal. A smile was on her face due to the warm meal and her current company.

"Of course I am. After I take in your beauty for a little longer," Shego remarked with a charming smile and got exactly what she was aiming for—a blush from Yori.

"Shego-chan…" Yori was speechless. Even after a year of dating, she really did not know how to take compliments, especially from Shego.

The pale woman only smiled, letting Yori know that words were not necessary. They finished their food and left for the theater. Yori clutched onto Shego out the whole production; her face was bright with happiness. Shego was content to stare at Yori for the whole night, enjoying the elated expression on Yori's face and proud to know that she was the one that put it there.

Shego was not sure what came over her since Yori entered her life. Sometimes, she paused and thought about the things that she did and she could not believe that it was her doing the actions. She did not mind, but she just could not believe it. She had not figured out what it was about Yori that touched something inside of her that she did not know existed, but she recognized that Yori did touch her and she accepted it. Hell, she liked it—a lot.

Because Yori triggered things inside of her, Shego was willing to sit through all sorts of things that she did not like, like plays. If she was in a theater, she liked a concert to be happening, but she supposed that was not going to be happening anytime soon. She was willing to put up with Yori's disregard for music; why? She could not figure that out yet, no matter how often she thought about it.

"I love it when there's a happy ending!" Yori grinned as they exited the theater with the rest of the crowd once the show was over. She was _still _latched onto Shego's arm, resting her head against Shego's silk-covered shoulder. Smiling came so easy to her now, and the ninja did know that. She enjoyed smiling, enjoyed having things to smile about.

"You do? I had no idea!" Shego teased, smiling as she spoke. She slid her arm around Yori's slim waist, resting it on her hip. Yori had to adjust her arm due to the new position, but she liked it because it brought her closer to the older woman.

The ninja chuckled a bit and lightly hit her companion. "Oh, you! Thank you for this, Shego-chan."

"It's my pleasure, cherry blossom. I'm here to show you the world, after all," Shego replied proudly.

"Thank you, Shego-chan. You've been so good to me," Yori said with a sincere, touching smile.

Shego could only shrug because there were no words in creation to respond to that smile. She wondered if Yori realized what lengths she would go for the younger woman just to see that smiling face. It scared her to think about it, really, but she could not do anything about it because she was sure that she would never be the same without that smile in her life.

The year for Shego had been just as fulfilling as it had been for Yori. Shego found someone whose company did not set her off every two minutes and who was respectful toward her, which was something that she thoroughly liked. Something about Yori helped keep her calm and made her patient—at least when it came to Yori anyway—and she found that she liked that. It felt good not to get worked up every two minutes.

"Home now?" Yori asked curiously as they got to the car.

"Why? Is there somewhere that you want to go?" Shego countered.

Yori shook her head. "Home sounds very nice." In fact, the thought of home put a smile on her face. She was starting to understand that home was a concept and not just a place because going to Yamanouchi never put a smile on her face like going home with Shego did.

They lived together, away from whatever lair Drakken was using. There was a practical reason for it. With Yori around, Drakken lost a lot more lairs than he used to. Shego was not looking forward to having to replace some of her more beloved possession every time Yori interfered with Drakken's crazy scheme. Yori agreed with that logic, especially as she got more and more possessions; she would be crushed if her manga collection was so much as singed.

Living together also allowed them to be alone together. Whenever they were at the lair, they had to worry about Drakken. Most of the time, they could put up with him; Shego was an expert at ignoring him by now. There were times when they both did just wish Drakken would go away, though, but now that they had a place of their own, they could just retreat to their home.

The couple lived in a small condo by the beach; the condo was on a hill and in the day, they could look down at the shoreline. Shego pulled into the driveway and they exited the car. They took a moment to look out beyond their home and they could hear the waves crashing against the shore. Yori could not help wrapping herself around Shego as they enjoyed the quiet moment.

Once the moment passed, the couple turned to go into their home. They took their shoes off at the door; it went beyond it being force of habit for Yori, but to keep their carpets cleaned and their floors unmarked. Shego turned on the lights, revealing a comfortable size living room with partial carpeting. The carpet was white while the walls were a very light green. The sofa was black leather. Beyond the living room were large, square windows.

Yori made a beeline for the living room, wanting to watch television. They had satellite and it picked up three different channels with anime, so Yori was pretty much addicted to it. Shego often left her to it, figuring that Yori had a lot of television watching to catch up on, since she did not get to do it much in her nineteen—almost twenty—years of life.

Shego went to the back, intent on taking a shower and changing into some house clothes. She went into her bedroom; they had separate bedrooms. Shego thought it would be good for Yori to have her own room and the ninja had been very excited to have a room to herself. Of course, the room was packed with manga, anime, wall scrolls, posters, and collectible figurines. It was heaven for Yori.

There were days when Yori would follow Shego into her room and sleep with her. There was some contact, heavy petting on occasion, but nothing further than that. Shego was determined to show self-control for once in her life and not push Yori into something that she might not be ready for, and a sexual relationship when they first began was definitely something that Yori was not ready for. As time went on, Yori did get more and more curious and have deeper urges, but they just never went to that point.

Sometimes, Yori crawled into Shego's bed, not for making out, but for sheer comfort. Yori suffered from very bad nightmares and she could not sleep on those nights, but feeling Shego against her, arms around her, chased away some of the nightmares and the bad thoughts. Another reason that Shego really let Yori set the pace of the relationship was because of how damaged the ninja's psyche seemed to be. Shego did not want to add to Yori's troubled mind.

Once she was showered and dressed, Shego went to keep Yori company; hey, there were a few shows that Shego could not only stomach, but she actually liked. As the night drew on, they both decided it was bedtime. Yori showered and put on her pajamas and that night she crawled into bed with Shego without even thinking about going to her room. She did not just crawl into bed, but she crawled on top of Shego.

"You seem like you want my attention, cherry blossom," Shego remarked with a wide smile.

Yori smiled. "You're so good to me," she replied and then leaned down to place a tender kiss to Shego's willing lips.

"You make it easy."

"Do I?" Another kiss.

"You are extremely low maintenance." She meant that in a good way. It was easy to take care of Yori and that was something that she thoroughly appreciated. She hoped that things were always that way.

The ninja knew that Shego meant that in a good way and leaned down for another, deeper kiss. After a few seconds, Yori lapped at Shego's lips, requesting entrance. Shego smiled internally, happy with her girlfriend's boldness. It had taken a lot of work to get Yori to that point, but now she was very comfortable with taking control of any kiss.

Shego's hands wandered at leisure over Yori's body, which the ninja was fine with. Soft moans escaped Yori's mouth, swallowed down by Shego since they were still attached at the lips. As if testing Shego's crumbling resolve, Yori started grinding herself against Shego's leg. The older woman wanted to cry, knowing that things were not going to go beyond that.

The first time that Yori had rubbed herself against Shego, she blushed and apologized over it. Shego had assured her that it was fine and that was all Yori needed. Now, she basically experimented with different ways to drive Shego out of her mind with sexual frustration—in Shego's opinion anyway, even though she knew that Yori did not mean to.

Shego thought that Yori movements came from knowing she wanted something, but not knowing what it was. She was not going to say anything, though, until Yori finally brought it up. Until then, they were both going to frustrated with the situation, although Yori tended to find more relief than Shego did.

"Shego-chan…" Yori whimpered, her face flush and her face now slightly away from Shego's. Pale hands were still wandering, caressing, and outright groping the ninja.

Shego did not say anything, but shifted her leg for her girlfriend. Yori whined as pressure was increased for her. She collapsed on top of Shego with a smile on her face. Shego smiled too, certain that she had never seen a better sight than Yori looming over.

"Shego, I'm so happy you're in my life," Yori said, speaking into the warm flesh of Shego's neck.

"Same here, cherry blossom. Same here," Shego whispered.

Yori smiled and settled against the warm body underneath her. As sleep was set to carry the ninja away, darkness crawled out into her mind, making her think of the past. This is what brought on her nightmares, making her feel like her stomach was going to drop out. The idea of nightmares scared her enough to send a shiver down her spine. The fear was chased away by gentle fingers stroking her back. She fell into a peaceful sleep, as she always did when held by Shego, her savior and protector as far as she was concerned.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Yori gets a letter from Yamanouchi and she thinks that they're going to take her away from Shego. Shego calms her down by offering to go...and she plans a little side trip before they go to Japan.


	2. Heaven

I don't own these characters; Disney does.

2: Heaven

Yori rose first, as she always did. She smiled to herself as she took in her surroundings, mostly the warm body underneath her. She thought about how good life had been since meeting Shego. She was experiencing so many new things, not just physically, but emotionally and intellectually as well. Never before had she considered how many things there were to do in the world and she would like to do all of them—with Shego by her side.

Whenever Shego was there, Yori felt a level of safety that she did not even think could exist. She never thought of herself as needing to feel protected, but now that she had Shego, she understood that the feeling was not a bad thing. It did not make her weak to be with someone that made her feel like nothing in the world could get her. If anything, she felt like it made her stronger. Something about Shego made her feel like she could do anything, even take on the world. Or even more frightening for her—live in the world. She knew that she could make it in this world as long as Shego was with her.

Then there was the level of freedom that she felt when she was with Shego. There was never any pressure for her to do one thing or another. Everything was up to her to be done at her own pace and that was something that she only experienced with Shego. When she was with her school, it always felt like she was shackled and collared, but she did not know any better and had not realized it back then, so it was not so troublesome. Now, though, even when working with Drakken and she felt somewhat restrained, it bothered her immensely. If Shego was not there with her, she was sure that she would have snapped doing just the simplest tasks for Drakken. Shego made everything worth it.

She snuggled closer into Shego's body and busied herself by running her fingers through the older woman's thick hair. She closed her eyes and focused on nothing more than her sense of touch, the feel of Shego's hair and skin. _Heavenly. She is heaven_.

Yori was content to stay as she was for a few minutes, but then she heard a truck outside. She popped up, knowing exactly who it was. She smiled as she dashed off. _Mailman!_

Shego chuckled to herself, having been woken up by Yori's movements. Sometimes, her girlfriend was very much the big kid. Yori loved doing simple things that most adults did not think about or found annoying, like getting the mail. Making it better, Shego subscribed Yori to a bunch of anime and martial arts' magazines, so that the ninja received mail for the first time in her life. Yori thought it was the best thing ever! Of course, Yori also thought satellite television, microwavable pretzels, cotton candy, bubble-bath, and jeans were "the best thing ever!"

After a few minutes, Shego cracked open one eye. Something was wrong. Usually, Yori would have bounced back into the room with the mail in hand and a smile on her face by now. Shego wasted no time throwing the covers from her body and getting up to search for her missing girlfriend. After she threw on a short robe, she marched out of her bedroom.

Shego thought that Yori might have taken a detour to her own room, but found it empty of life. She then went to the living room, figuring that Yori might have been turned around by something on television; it would not have been the first time. Yori was in the living room, sitting on the sofa with an envelope in her hand. The rest of the mail was resting at Yori's feet, as if she had dropped it.

Yori was pale as the paper in her hands. Her body was frozen while her eyes were open and she looked like a deer in headlights. Shego rushed to her side and pulled Yori to her. As soon the familiar form was pressed against her, Yori's arms went around Shego and she began trembling. Strong hands immediately began to tenderly caress the small of the ninja's back, trying to calm her down.

"Cherry blossom, what's wrong?" Shego asked in a low tone, trying her best not to frighten her girlfriend any more than she obviously already was.

Yori did not speak, could not speak. She quivered as she held Shego tighter and silently begged for the calming presence to make everything right. She promised herself that Shego would make everything better.

The green-skinned woman did not bother to ask again, figuring that she was going to have to wait for Yori to settle. She did take the envelope out of Yori's hand, careful not to tear it from the vice-like grip the younger woman had on it. Shego did not see anything outstanding about the plain white envelope or why it upset Yori so much. There was actually nothing on it, no return address or mailing address. She was beginning to doubt that it was the envelope that bothered Yori at all until she noticed the small "stamp" on the right corner.

The stamp was a small black mark that looked suspiciously like a lotus cut in half. Shego had never seen the mark before, but she had seen things like it. She had a feeling that the letter was from Yori's ninja school. Instead of asking, she just held and caressed Yori while waiting for the young woman to stop shaking.

"They're going to take me away from you…" Yori whispered in a raspy tone. She had never felt such crippling fear, but it was closing her throat and making it hard to talk. "I can not leave you, Shego. I can not. I just…"

Shego kissed the side of Yori's head. "You don't know what the letter even says yet. Read it first before deciding what you can and what you can't do," she advised in a gentle tone. She was so thankful that Yori had taught her some patience because she knew it was important at times like these.

"Why else would they write? I am sure it's to tell me to come home," Yori sniffled and buried her head in Shego's shoulder, hoping to hide from the evil letter.

"You can't know that until you open it. It might just be something about renewing your contract. Drakken told me he only signed you on for a year. Goofy bastard was actually planning ahead, thinking that a year would be good to see if you would work out or not," Shego explained, chuckling a little to lighten the mood.

"Really?" Yori asked in a hopeful tone, pulling back to look at the older woman. Her eyes shined like black diamonds, partially from unshed tears, but mostly from the wish that her girlfriend was right.

"Yes, really."

"I have never been on an assignment this long, you know? Most of missions were always something fast. The longest one only took a couple of months, nothing like this. I do not know what to expect," the ninja admitted in a low voice.

The thief nodded, showing that she understood. She continued the massage on Yori's back and placed a gentle kiss to the ninja's forehead. "So, open the letter first. After that, we'll figure out what we need to do, if we need to do anything."

Yori nodded and noted how Shego said "we." That one word made her feel better, letting her know that she was not alone. She was never alone when Shego was with her, she reminded herself. The thought gave her the strength to tear open the envelope that only seconds before had the power to make her tremble. Once the letter was open, its power returned.

Shego reached out and steadied Yori's hand. The ninja twisted around to smile at Shego, who returned the expression. The younger woman then turned her attention back to the letter in her hand. They both read it silently and finally the tension eased out of Yori's body.

"They want me to come back, but they didn't say why," Yori pointed out, breathing a slight sigh of relief. It seemed a little strange to her, but it was better than an order to stay at the school and be away from Shego.

"It's probably just for some contract negotiations," Shego assured her, waving it off a little. The letter was so vague she was not sure what to think, but she insisted it was nothing serious to make sure she kept her girlfriend calm. Besides, she did not see why it would be serious considering the manner in which it was sent. She figured if a secret ninja organization wanted to get in touch with an operative, they would do something other than sending it by the United States Postal service.

"You think so?"

"Right here." Shego pointed down to the middle of the short, business letter that was written in Japanese. "They talk about setting terms for your employment. That should have to do with your contract."

Yori nodded. "I hope so. Have I told you I'm happy to be with you and I'm happy you read Japanese?" she smiled as she asked that. Shego had helped her a few times when English failed her by assisting her in expressing her feelings in English by offering up things in Japanese.

"You've said it a few times, but you know how I love to hear praise," Shego remarked with a laugh.

"Shego-chan…I am not too sure if I want to go back. What if they decide to cancel the contract and keep me at the school?" Yori inquired, fear clouding her obsidian eyes.

"I won't let them, cherry blossom. You should know that," Shego promised while pressing the smaller woman to her.

"But…you can not come with me. I have to go alone. The only way into the school is by association or invitation. You do not have either of those," the ninja pointed out.

"Baby, when the hell have you seen me do what the rules say if it's not in my best interest? Some rules aren't going to stop me from being by your side," the pale woman vowed in a strong, determined voice.

"We could get into trouble…"

"It's all right, cherry blossom. I'm not going to let you go this by yourself. I don't want to worry you either." Shego kissed the side of Yori's head.

The ninja sniffled, but smiled. "I do not know what to do…" she said in a low voice.

"Let me come with you. We'll figure something out, but right now, just let me come with you," the older woman quietly begged, nibbling on Yori's delectable ear. The ninja moaned and squirmed a little.

"You are not being fair…" Yori whimpered, pressing herself against the firm form holding her.

"I'm never fair, cherry blossom. You just don't know that side of me," Shego whispered before taking another pass at Yori's ear with her tongue. Honestly, Yori had not seen the side of Shego that would do anything to get her way, but she was about to be thoroughly introduced to that side.

"Shego-chan…"

"I'm going to come with you, cherry blossom. This way, you don't have to worry too much and you'll have a shoulder if you need one. Plus, I'll be around for moral support. You want that, don't you?" Shego's hand began to trace a lazy circle around Yori's navel.

"Uh-huh…" Yori replied while trying to figure out if she liked this new, tricky Shego or not. It was hard not to like the attention, but underneath it, she knew that she was being manipulated. She just did not care much. Besides, she was being manipulated into telling the truth; she wanted nothing more than for Shego to be there with her, supporting her, carrying her, caring about her.

"So, I'm going to come with you, all right?" Shego stated and then she sucked slightly on Yori's neck, just below her ear.

"Um…okay…" the ninja answered. She was only vaguely aware of what she was even agreeing to now. Instead, her mind was more focused on the powerful and strange sensations coursing through her body, making everything seem alive, humming, and throbbing for more of the attention that Shego was giving her neck.

"Good. I'll go make our travel plans," Shego declared and she suddenly pulled away.

Yori whimpered and panted, trying to catch her breath. "Shego!" she whined as the delicious contact was taken from her, leaving her body wanting something that she just could not figure out. All she knew was that Shego started it and she would like Shego to finish it; whatever "it" was.

The young ninja stood there in a daze for a long while because the humming in her body would not go away. She was starting to realize that she had felt this burning feeling before, but nowhere near this level of intensity. If what she felt before was fire, then this feeling was the hottest sun in all of the universe. She felt conflicted, unsure of how to make the feeling going away, not sure if she wanted the feeling to go away.

"What is wrong with me?" Yori wondered, wrapping her arms around her body in an attempt to hold herself together because it certainly felt like her body was ready to fly apart.

Shego watched Yori, who had not moved in well over a couple of minutes. She watched as confusion, desire, and other emotions swirled in deep onyx eyes. She actually felt bad about working Yori into such a state because she knew her girlfriend could not figure out what was going on. A smile curled onto her lips as an idea formed in her mind; she hoped that she would be able to get Yori curious enough for the ninja to start pushing for a little more…before Yori went insane from unrealized desire.

"Cherry blossom, I'm going to show you a great time before you allow yourself to be stressed by whatever the hell that stupid school of yours want from you," Shego silently vowed.

-(New day)

Yori held onto Shego's hand with a grip that led the older woman to think that Yori might actually break her hand. They were on a plane, flying first-class, but there were still too many people for Yori's liking and the space was too small to be around so many people. It did not help that there were not many escape options if something went wrong and she did not have her weapons on the flight if something went wrong.

"Calm down, cherry blossom. Nothing's going to happen," Shego promised, reaching over to caress Yori's cheek with her free hand.

"I know, I know." Yori blushed, often feeling stupid over her own paranoia. It was just impossible for her to disregard years of training and she had never been a fan of small, confined spaces anyway.

"Do you want me to order you a drink to help relax you?" Shego inquired softly. She had no problem with getting Yori alcohol, even though the ninja was a year and a couple of months off from being of legal drinking age, in the United States anyway.

Yori shook her head, trying her best not to seem pathetic. Even though she knew that Shego would not judge her behavior, she wanted to do it for herself. She wanted to prove to herself that all of the work that Shego had put into her over the past year was paying off. She closed her eyes, took a few calming breaths, and allowed herself to let go.

"So, I have never been on a commercial flight. Is it a must to go through Hawaii to get to Japan?" Yori inquired curiously. They were on a flight bound for Hawaii, but she did not know why. She thought that it might be the norm and she knew that Shego would explain it all.

"It's not a must," Shego answered in a non-committal tone.

Yori smiled, quickly figuring out if it was not a must, then Shego had some kind of plan. She liked it when Shego surprised her, so she did her best to fight down her newly revived curiosity in all things. She held onto Shego's hand a little tighter, letting the older woman know just how excited she was.

"Never been to Hawaii, have you?" Shego asked, the grin made it clear that she was teasing her young companion.

Yori only grinned. She could not wait for this latest adventure. Her heart pounded in anticipation for the entire flight, speeding up when she looked through some of the magazines, which showcased the activities to be done in Hawaii. She hoped that they were going to island-hop because the magazines made her want to do something on each island.

Shego had fallen asleep during the flight on purpose. She did that just in case Yori started asking a million and one questions. She did not want to eventually give in and answer the questions. She wanted everything to be a surprise for the ninja. By the time they landed, she had successfully remained asleep and avoided any questions about their little detour.

-8-8-8-8-

"We are to stay here?" Yori inquired with wide eyes, looking around the lush suite that they were staying in. Her mouth hung wide open after she asked, as if she was about to say something else, but nothing would come out. She had seen such elegance and wealth when out on missions for various reasons, but never had she lived in such stylishness.

"Yes, this is our room for the next couple of days," Shego announced.

Onyx eyes flashed with disappointment. "Only a couple?" She knew that they would not be able to do much on the Big Island in only a couple of days.

"We're only here for a couple of days and then we're going to go to Maui."

Yori started to smile. "And? Is there more?" she begged to know. She was about to start bouncing around on her heels if Shego started explaining exactly what they were going to do while on Hawaii.

Shego knew that she had to let some of the surprise go or Yori would explode from the curiosity. "We're going to stay on each island for two days before we take off for Japan. Today does not count as one of the two days that we will be here," she explained in a matter-of-fact tone, as if it was no big deal.

Yori flung herself on Shego and wrapped her arms tightly around the taller woman's neck. Shego would have laughed if only Yori did not show just how overcome she was. Yori pressed her mouth to Shego's lips in an instant and started a passionate kiss that Shego automatically returned. By the time Yori pulled away, Shego was out of breath and the ninja was blushing deeply, almost ready to apologize for her behavior.

"I think I've done a very good thing," Shego commented in a low tone while leaning down for another, much shorter kiss.

"I read so many magazines on the plane about Hawaii and I was hoping to experience as much of it as possible," Yori explained.

"Well, then, we'll do whatever your heart desires," Shego promised while placing her hand over the aforementioned body part. It took every ounce self-control to keep from caressing her girlfriend, her hand even trembling from desire and wavering control.

Yori grinned, but suddenly her smile dropped. "Is there not something that you would like to do?"

Shego opened her mouth and then shut it quickly. She had been milliseconds away from telling Yori that she wanted to throw the little ninja on the bed and make love until they had to leave for Maui, where she wanted to do the same thing. She could not say that. She could not put that kind of pressure on Yori and she could not push Yori like that, knowing it would do harm to the younger woman. She knew that she would never have it in her to do something—_anything_—to hurt Yori.

"I just want to be with you, cherry blossom," Shego replied. She was telling the truth, just not the whole truth.

"But—" Yori started to object, but she was cut off. There were times when she could have a child-like selfishness to her when it came to Shego because Shego did spoil her, but a lot of the time, she was completely self-conscious about everything going on and how Shego always let her lead the way through things. She was aware that Shego did those things because Shego wanted her to discover things on her own, but sometimes she felt like Shego was holding back and she knew it was for her. There were times when she just wanted to do what Shego wanted to do, even if she did not know what that was!

"No buts, cherry blossom!" Shego declared with a grin. "Now, I've been to Hawaii more times than I can count and I've done many things that I've wanted to do. Hell, I think I've done everything I ever wanted to do in Hawaii at least twice. I haven't been able to share the experience with you, though. I just want to be with you as you do things that you never imagined. You name it and I'm willing to do it with you. Any and everything," she vowed, staring directly into Yori's eyes.

Onyx eyes shimmered with affection. "You are so good to me, Shego-chan."

"Well, you're very precious to me, little ninja. I want to give you the world and more," Shego stated. How they got to this point, Shego doubted that she would never truly be able to understand it, but damn it, she wanted to give Yori everything. She wanted to be there for Yori always and she wanted to make sure no harm ever came to Yori.

Yori was back on Shego in a flash, kissing the older woman senseless. Shego actually wobbled when Yori finally pulled away. The Japanese woman had the nerve to blush because of her handiwork.

"You're getting good at that, cherry blossom," Shego whispered.

"It is because of you," Yori replied. "And the way you make me feel…" she added with a blush.

Shego could not help smiling. She was not even aware of the happy expression on her face. If Yori felt anything like Shego felt, she was not sure how the younger woman could handle it all. Sometimes, the strange, but welcomed feelings felt like they might drown Shego. She also wondered if Yori felt the same as she, then why were they still dressed while standing in such a lush hotel room in one of the most romantic places on Earth? Her thoughts were cut off by Yori's eager voice.

"I want to go kayaking and then I want to go to Mauna Kea!" Yori cried with delight while yanking Shego, out of the room, and away from a comfy bed that Shego gazed at until it was out of sight.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Shego takes Yori to new heights.


	3. True paradise

I don't own these characters; Disney does.

A/N: Sorry for the wait on this. I had to actually re-write the whole chapter or suffer the consequences of a sound beating from one of my betas. They're a vicious pair! Oh, and this is where the story puts in serious work for that M-rating. Run now if that's not your sort of thing.

3: True paradise

Shego doubted that she would ever forget the look of sheer awe on Yori's face when they hiked Mauna Kea. She felt such pride and so many other emotions when they reached the summit and Yori clutched onto her, holding her as if they were connected. The way the ninja looked…it was as if she saw God and Shego had given her that chance.

"There's more to come, cherry blossom," Shego quietly promised while wiping away tears flowing down Yori's cheeks.

"I never knew…I never knew that the world was so beautiful…" Yori whispered as she saw the sky touch the sea and the sun starting to disappear in a hail of dazzling orange glow. She had spent her life living in her mind, in her comics, in her anime, in a fantasy because she saw the ugliness of the world as a ninja. But, here, she could tell that there were places that were magnificent, pure, and she wanted to experience more of them with the wonderful woman by her side.

"There's a lot out there for you to see," Shego replied, holding the ninja close to her.

"Will you…will you take me more places?" Yori asked with hope shining in her obsidian eyes.

"Anywhere you want to go," Shego vowed in a tender tone, looking Yori dead in the eye as she made that promise. She could not let Yori go, and not just for the ninja's sake, but for her own. Something about being with Yori made Shego feel so many things that she just could not give up without a fight. She _needed_ to be with Yori as much as Yori needed to be with her.

Yori nodded, but she did not say anything else. She continued to silently cry for a few minutes. She was open with her tears, knowing that Shego would not judge her. Shego just held her tight and allowed her the moving experience.

"There's so much more where this came from," Shego said after noticing that Yori stopped crying.

"I hope I can survive it all. I have never been so…" Yori was not even sure what she wanted to say. It was beyond words. Instead, she turned to look Shego directly in the eye. "You are amazing. You make me feel incredible, in ways that I never knew were possible."

"Once again, there's more where this came from," Shego remarked. If Yori allowed her to do so, she would always make her feel incredible.

Yori smiled and cuddled closer into Shego, looking out into the world from Mauna Kea. The day had been breathtaking; it was the only way they both could think to describe it. It was more than just the scenery, which was extraordinary. The company was what made it breathtaking.

"Well, we need to get going," Shego suddenly declared.

"Why?" Yori asked curiously, teeth chattering.

"Because you're shivering, babe. You didn't expect it to be this cold, did you?"

Yori chuckled a little, looking sheepish. "I should have known that it would be colder high up on the mountain. I did not think about that because I was just so excited," she admitted in an embarrassed mumble.

"It's all right. I'll keep you warm on the way down. Besides, there's something else I want to take you to do since you're so excited," Shego explained.

"Something else?" Yori echoed, unable to fight her smile down. Her face lit up at the idea of doing more with Shego right now.

Shego smiled back, but she did not explain herself. They made it down the mountain after stargazing for a while. They went back to their hotel to change their clothes, which gave Yori a chance to guess what they were doing because Shego pulled out swimsuits for them.

"Is it safe to swim at this hour?" Yori asked curiously.

"Just put this one," Shego replied while tossing Yori her swimsuit, which was a plain dark blue one-piece.

The ninja let out a dramatic sigh, even though she made moves to put the suit on. She quietly followed Shego out of the room after they were both ready. They made their way to their destination, even though Yori still did not know what they were doing. They joined a group of people down by a dock and were given snorkeling equipment. They dived into the water and as lights shined in the sea, Yori was able to see what Shego wanted to surprise her with. They were swimming with large rays.

If Yori was not thinking, her mouth would have dropped open and she would have drowned right then and there. Instead of killing herself, she grabbed Shego's hand and squeezed it tightly. She was delighted when Shego squeezed back. The pale woman smiled to herself as she watched Yori, almost certain that she could see Yori's black eyes shining.

-8-8-8-8-

"That was amazing!" Yori screamed as she leaped into Shego's arms as soon as they crossed the threshold into their hotel room.

Shego did not even have time to respond. First, she had to make sure she caught Yori and balanced her properly to avoid dropping her. She tucked her arms underneath Yori and pressed the younger woman to her. The ninja put her arms on Shego's shoulders, not really holding herself up, but wanting to touch her girlfriend as much as possible. Yori was interested in more intimate contact and came in for a kiss, hoping it would convey all of the passion, excitement, and gratitude that she was feeling at the moment. The move was quick that she caught her girlfriend by surprise with the kiss, not that Shego minded at all when those sweet lips came to meet her own.

Shego groaned because of the intense connection and had to adjust her head slightly, wanting more of Yori. The younger woman slipped her hand around Shego's neck and put one hand behind Shego's head to keep their contact; she was almost clinging to the thief for this kiss. Shego growled when she felt slim fingers pressing her closer and tangling in her hair, sending small jolts through her body. The taller woman backed over to the bed, needing a place to catch her as she felt her knees growing weaker with every second that the kiss went on. She sat on the edge, not wanting to soak the bedspread with their wet bathing suits.

Yori did not even notice their change in position with her sitting on Shego's lap. She just wanted more of Shego's mouth, more of Shego in general. And Shego wanted more of Yori, but a voice in the back of her head kept reminding her that she had to remain control of herself. She only partially listened to that voice this time around. Pale green hands gently wandered at the petite, wet body on her lap, caressing whatever delightfully soft flesh she could touch. Yori cried out into Shego's mouth when she felt a curious hand feeling around the swell of her breast. Her hips instinctively ground themselves again Shego, rubbing against Shego's abdomen. The ninja moaned and whimpered as small tremors pulsed through her body, but did nothing for the growing passion she was feeling for her girlfriend.

"Shego…" Yori groaned as she broke the kiss. She threw her head back for a moment and the way her body arched against Shego made the older woman want to tell that responsible voice in her head to shut the hell up, so she could have the beautiful ninja on her lap. But, her self-control continued to win the battle against her aching libido.

"Yes, cherry blossom?" Shego replied with a growl, not releasing her hold on any part of the younger woman. She pulled Yori closer, earning another deep moan.

"My body…it feels…so weird…everything…" Yori whimpered, feeling as if every nerve in her body was tingling. Her body was trembling worse than ever before and she was not sure if anything would make it go away.

"It's all right. Nothing's wrong," Shego promised in a purr. She knew that would reassure the ninja, but really she was the one that needed reassuring. The voice in her head would not leave her alone while her body was starting to feel like it might implode if she kept listening to that voice. She needed Yori to make everything better, even though she was all too aware that Yori thought that she would be the one that made everything better.

"What…to…do?" the ninja panted in frustration, leaning her head against her girlfriend's shoulder. This ache that she was feeling, it was so much more powerful than anything that she was used to. She did not know how to make it go away because of how strong the unknown need was. She did not know what it was, but she knew that it had something to do with Shego and the way that they touched. She thought that Shego might be able to make it go away.

"Whatever you feel like you're ready for, cherry blossom," the green-skinned woman whispered into the waiting ear of the ninja.

"Ready?" Yori echoed. Her face was flush, but her forehead was wrinkled from her confusion. It was like she guessed what was going on, but she was not totally convinced that her guess was correct. She had been wrong plenty of times in her life, after all.

"What do you think would come next if this was an anime or a manga?"

Yori's brow remained furrowed. She did not understand the question at first because most of her collection centered on action or mystery. She had not crossed into romance and drama, but sometimes that could be a back-story for most of her collection. So, she tried to think what two characters would be doing in their positions. She ran through several items in her head before she figured it out.

Shego knew the instant that the realization dawned on her girlfriend. Onyx eyes opened wide for a brief moment and a crimson flush overtook the dull red of overheated skin. Yori gulped and focused on Shego, obsidian staring into jade.

"You mean…this…and that…?" Yori asked curiously, her voice coming in a breath.

"If that's what you're ready for, cherry blossom. It's up to you," Shego answered, even though her body wanted her to just demand that Yori put her out of her misery. It was not possible for her mouth to say that, though. Her heart and mind would not allow her to say that.

Yori was silent for a moment, staring at her girlfriend with intense concentration. "Do we have to?" she asked quietly. Her heart thumped loudly at the thought and a shiver raced through her at her mind conjured up the image of Shego caressing her bare skin, of her doing the same to Shego. She swallowed hard from the image and felt heat spread through her.

"It's all up to you, Yori. It's all up to you," Shego replied in a whisper. She would do whatever Yori wanted to do anything more, she silently vowed while running her fingertips up and down Yori's back.

Yori nodded to show that she understood. "Do you want to…?" she asked in a breath, taking in the wonderful feel of Shego's fingers dancing along her skin. A long exhale escaped her as she thought about what those fingers would feel like all over her. She beginning to feel pretty certain in what she desired, but a little something inside of her held back and continued questioning.

"It doesn't matter what I want. This is about you and what you're ready for, cherry blossom. I will wait for you, always. I would never try to get you to do something that you weren't ready to do," Shego vowed in a strong, sincere tone.

"I…I think that…I might want to…" Her mouth said one thing, but her eyes still spoke of hesitation and confusion. She knew what was holding her back now and she feared that it might always hold her back.

Emerald eyes gave her a stern, but caring look. "I want you to be sure."

"I think…I ache…for you…" Yori could not believe what she was saying. She also hardly understood what she was saying, but she did know that her body seemed to want Shego very badly.

Shego smiled a little and rubbed the small of Yori's back. "That doesn't mean we have to do anything. I know that look, after all." She brought up her index finger and massaged the wrinkled area between Yori's eyebrows. The older woman lifted her body up a bit with her free hand, feeling her retreat would show that they did not have to do anything.

The ninja shook her head and pulled Shego back to her. "It is not that I do not want to. I do not know how," she reminded Shego. That was a big problem for her. Not fear and definitely not a lack of desire. She just did not know how to do what she now knew she wanted to do because her mangas and anime never went very far when it came to the characters being intimate with each other.

It was the thief's turn to gulp. Okay, so she had made a mistake and read Yori slightly wrong. She had not expected that, but now that she knew it, she was having trouble processing it. She eyed her girlfriend for a moment, taking in the step that Yori wanted to take. Yori, on the other hand, thought that Shego might try to talk her out of this, assuming that she was not ready, but she was certain that she was. Yori wanted this.

"Will you…will you show me?" Yori requested, staring deeply into darkened jade eyes.

Shego almost swallowed her tongue. "Are you…are you sure…?" She had to take a breath after that as her mind started to swirl a little.

"I am very sure, Shego-chan. I trust you and I would love nothing more than to…make love with you…" Yori said earnestly with quiet passion. She then regarded Shego with curious eyes and tilted her head slightly. "Do you not want that?" she asked in a low, frightened voice. She glanced away, not wanting to see her girlfriend's face if that was confirmed.

"Of course I want that. I just want to be sure you're ready. I don't want you to regret it," Shego replied, caressing the ninja's smooth cheek. She would be so crushed if Yori ended up disliking their time together. Shego would go so far as to say it would probably kill her.

"How could I regret anything with you, Shego-chan?" Yori asked in total confusion. She looked almost like Shego just told her the moon would never shine again. It just did not make any sense to her.

Shego smiled a little. "You're too much, cherry blossom."

"I wish for this feeling to never end…and…I wish for us…to know each other…as intimately as possible. I cannot think of anyone I would rather be with than you," the ninja said soundly. She trusted no one like she trusted Shego, the only person to truly care about her for who she was. The one person to let her find out who she was. She was certain sharing her body with Shego would be nothing short of magical.

"And you're sure?"

Yori's respond was to lean in for another kiss. After a full minute, she pulled away a little and ground her hips into Shego's abdomen again. "Please, Shego, love me," she requested in a breathless tone. "I want you. I need you."

Shego did not need anything more than those words. She had to take a deep breath to keep herself calm, not wanting to tear at her girlfriend and also not wanting to freak out herself. She was going to be Yori's first and she wanted to do this right. She went in for a gentle kiss, one full of adoration and promise. Yori returned the show of affection, moaning slightly as warm fingers started to move slowly against her skin. Shego rolled over, changing their positions, which broke their kiss for just a moment.

Shego smiled a bit before leaning in for another passionate kiss. The younger woman let loose a squeal as the kiss began to heat up, as did the fingers wandering her body. Yori wiggled against Shego's body while giving herself up completely to the kiss. Shego growled and pulled away slightly to hiss as she felt Yori rubbing up against her with more vigor than ever before. Shego put a hand on Yori's hip, hoping to halt the movements. Yori took the hint and peered at Shego with questioning onyx eyes.

"Calm down, cherry blossom, or this is going to be over very fast," the older thief warned the ninja.

"I do not care. I want you, worse than before," Yori confessed. She blushed and glanced down for a moment. That kiss had enflamed her body, like she was drowning in an active volcano, and she wanted so much more now.

Shego smiled, flattered by those honest words, before going in for another kiss. Yori met her with just as much energy, moaning slightly again in Shego's tender mouth. The ninja could have sworn that she could feel all of Shego's affection enter her through the kiss and gentle touching. She threw her arms around the older woman, trying to get closer and feel more, not just physically, but emotionally.

A purr rumbled through Shego's throat as she felt Yori trying to press them closer. Slowly and steady, green fingers traveled up Yori's back and went to remove her bathing suit. Yori did not object as she felt the garment being pulled away. A sigh of relief actually escaped the ninja as she was freed from the suit. Shego pulled away, breaking their kiss, and left Yori in a momentary daze.

The entire world seemed to pause as Shego took in the beautiful treasure that she uncovered. Yori remained still while Shego's eyes drank in her bare chest. A faint blush spread through the ninja's creamy body because of the way that Shego was looking at her. She felt totally naked in every way imaginable and she knew that she could only be that way for Shego. This thought made Yori very happy and secure and she wanted Shego to know that.

"Should I…?" Yori asked, putting her hands on the straps of Shego's suit. She figured that the best way to show that she was comfortable was by returning the favor.

"Please," Shego begged in a strained voice.

Yori smirked and yanked the suit down her girlfriend's torso, licking her lips as she took in the sight of Shego glorious body. Yori's blood felt like it was going faster and she was scared that she might start hyperventilating, knowing that they were getting closer to the moment of truth. The anticipation was almost too much for the ninja and her heart rate increased as Shego continued on.

Shego leaned forward, careful of having their bodies slowly come into full contact. Yori began to blush as she felt their skin touching, but she wanted so much more. Shego moved her lips next to a flushed ear, kissing the shell of the ear, before nipping a delectable earlobe. Yori yelped and then moaned, holding onto Shego as if her life depended on it.

The thief thought that it might be best to move up on the bed a little further now that they were out of their wet bathing suits. She made sure not to lose contact with Yori as she pushed herself back to the middle of the bed. She had to kick away her suit, which was still clinging to her ankles. She also rolled over, putting her on top of the ninja. Yori noticed their new position and looked up at Shego with curious eyes.

"Is there something wrong? You want to stop?" Shego asked in a breath, hoping that was not the case. She did not think that she had done anything wrong, but guilt crushed her heart already, thinking that she might have gone too far.

"No. I have just…You have never…I am usually on top of you…" Yori explained with another blush.

Shego nodded. "We can change if you like."

Yori shook her head. "No, this is fine." She would like to experience something different and she was definitely new to being underneath her girlfriend.

Shego smiled and kissed behind Yori's ear. From there, she trailed a path of wet kisses down Yori's neck to collarbones, earning light mewing noises from the ninja. She kissed Yori's pulse point and felt it racing under her lips. The smile that brought to her lips was nothing like any smile she had ever wore; it was warm, loving, and proud. The kisses paused right below Yori's collarbone, earning a light whine.

"Shego," Yori begged in a breath.

"Yes, cherry blossom?" Shego asked, lips so close to Yori's skin that it was a wonder how they were not touching.

"Why did you stop?"

"Only to appreciate your beauty face," Shego remarked, smiling and staring at Yori's face. Onyx eyes were half-mast and well on their way to being full shut if Shego had anything to say about it.

Yori smiled from the compliment and Shego doubted that she would ever feel the sense of pride that she currently did just from making Yori feel good. She placed a gentle kiss to partially opened lips before continuing her exploration of the lovely body beneath her. She worked her way down to Yori's chest and kissed around the swell of each breast, causing Yori to sharply inhale and clutch onto Shego's back. The ninja just found out how sensitive certain parts of her body were could be.

Shego began nipping and gently biting tempting, creamy mounds when she felt Yori's blunt nails digging into her back. Shego wanted to make Yori hold her tighter and feel the greatest ecstasy of her young life. Yori made noises that she never knew existed as it felt like her girlfriend's hands and mouth were everywhere. The sensations that she was feeling seemed otherworldly to her and the ninja could not help wondering if she was actually dreaming. Next, she moaned so loudly that she knew she had to be awake because that sound would have jolted anyone from a sound rest.

"Shego…" Yori purred as tears formed in the corners of her eyes while shocks of pleasure buzzed through her.

The thief did not say anything in response. She switched sites, giving the twin just as much attention with her mouth as she had the other. Yori arched into the working mouth, begging for more. Shego obliged, taking in as much of Yori as she could, wanting to give to Yori as much as she could. Yori whimpered and wiggled underneath the older woman; Shego smiled to herself.

After spending a significant amount of time with Yori's breasts, Shego had to move on, craving more of the delicious body beneath her. She licked her way to the valley of Yori's small, creamy breasts and then started on her path downward. She paused at Yori's milky stomach, having the urge to look at her lover's face.

A smile worked it's way onto Shego's lips as she took in Yori's expression. Onyx eyes were closed tight and a dazed, crooked smile adorned Yori's face. Yori panted and tried to open her eyes completely to see why Shego had stopped, but she could not manage it. One eye did open when Shego did not start again and a grin appeared on Yori's face as soon as she noticed that Shego was looking up at her with fondness in her eyes.

"You all right?" Shego asked quietly to be sure.

Yori nodded; she was not capable of verbal communication anymore. Her mind was just a jumble of things that only knew the magnificent things that Shego was doing with her hands and mouth. She stared at Shego, her eyes begging for Shego to continue.

Shego's mouth went back to its journey, tracing over Yori's smooth skin. To get to her destination, she needed to remove the rest of Yori's swimsuit, throwing it to the far side of the room. She ran her hands up and down toned legs, mesmerized by the soft limbs. Her hands wandered from the outside to the inside and up to her thighs, gliding almost as if she was not trying to feel much. Yori whimpered again from the ghost-like caressing and shifted, leaning more into the touches. Shego pressed more against her, but kept her touches light and tender. With each pass of her hands, she got a little closer to the center of Yori's body, as if trying to prepare her for what was next.

Shego kissed around Yori's thighs and her waist. Yori actually bucked a little against her; her body seemed to know what was coming next. Shego took a deep breath as she drew closer to her goal, not wanting to lose control now. Soft, butterfly kisses moved into the inside of Yori's legs and her whole body twitched when a kiss landed on her core. She almost closed her legs from the surprise, but Shego caught her and continued on with the soft kisses before Yori let out a moan of sweet surrender. Shego figured that it was safe to apply more pressure once she felt Yori relax. The moans increased in volume as Shego's mouth and hands caressed her in ways that she never imagined possible.

Yori's legs suddenly locked around the ankles, keeping her attached to Shego, feeling as much of Shego as she could. The ninja's body began moving without her permission, trying to keep pace with Shego's busy mouth. Her breath hitched as she felt featherlight touching from a slim digit, slowly joining in with Shego's mouth on her most intimate area.

"Shego…?" Yori said in a shaky tone.

"Relax, cherry blossom. You know I would never hurt you, right?"

Yori nodded and moaned as Shego proceeded. Her body tensed slightly as Shego's fingers once again moved in to join her mouth. Shego groaned as she pressed into Yori, slowly, giving the ninja time to adjust. Yori let out a long groan, wanting to give her all to the intruder.

"Relax, go slow," Shego murmured.

Yori's response was another low moan while Shego inched her way into the warmth that was her girlfriend. Yori's entire body bucked when Shego started moving. The ninja never felt something so…wonderful. It was like every nerve-ending in her body was alive and being overloaded with pleasure. She almost curled into a ball when Shego's mouth returned. She did not even have time to try to keep up before her whole being exploded into what had to be pure light. Her back bowed and her body shook before she dropped to the mattress, limp and worn out.

Shego smiled because of her handiwork while pulling Yori into a tight hug. The ninja curled into Shego and buried her head into Shego's chest. The older woman rubbed Yori's head as her body started to calm down. Yori could not help smiling as she felt Shego caressing her. She wrapped her arm around Shego's waist and fought off falling asleep right away.

"Wow, that was intense," the younger woman whispered.

"Yeah, it certainly was," Shego concurred. Intense was the only way for her to describe it since she was pretty much satisfied with just giving Yori pleasure. That had never happened before. She was rarely a big giver when it came to sex, but then she realized that was not sex that they just had. It was as Yori requested; they had made love.

"Is it always like that?" Yori asked curiously.

Shego shook her head. "I think that's something we're going to have to learn together. I've never experienced anything like this before in my life."

"I hope it will always be like that, but I would love nothing more than to learn if it is with you. Is that all right?" Yori inquired in a small voice. She hoped that it was all right to make plans on the future with Shego since it was thanks to Shego that she could picture having a future.

"Of course it is." Shego kissed Yori's sweat-drenched forehead.

Yori did not say anything in reply. She smiled and rested her head against Shego's chest, right next to her beating heart. The steady, soothing noise made sure that Yori was sleeping within seconds. Shego drifted off too, not surprised that she felt sated just from bringing Yori to new heights of pleasure.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: The couple arrives in Japan.


	4. Back to reality

I do not own these characters; Disney does.

4: Back to reality

Yori loathed to leave Hawaii, the places where she learned and felt her emotions for Shego deepen beyond comprehension, but she knew that she needed to go back to Japan. She was happy that Shego was by her side. She did not know what she did to have someone like Shego in her life, but she was grateful for the older woman. She glanced over at the object of her thoughts, who was seated right next to her on their flight to Japan.

Shego was sound asleep; she had worn herself out in Hawaii…but, she loved every second of it. She could not figure out what it was about Yori, but the ninja had done something to her. Shego did not want to totally acknowledge what that something was and she tried her best not to think about it, but she had not managed it very well while they were in Hawaii.

The green-skinned thief kept thinking about that something in Hawaii because she did so many things that Yori wanted to do. It was not her typical vacation and she did not mind it at all. She had fun, actually, and she knew it was because Yori was there. What started out as her just trying to help the ninja get over the messed up programming put into her by her school had developed into something that Shego did not want to name. Instead, she let it linger and float around the back of her mind; it was like the purple elephant in the living room and she damn sure was not planning to say anything about it.

Yori took Shego's hand in hers and decided to spend her idle time playing with Shego's fingers. She thought about those warm fingers and blushed as she recalled what those long digits could do to her. She then thought on how Shego's hands were softer than her own; she figured that was from the fact that Shego typically wore gloves when fighting. She considered that she might start wearing gloves too; she wanted her hands to be soft when she touched Shego.

After a while, the older woman woke up and noticed that Yori was occupying her time by playing with her fingers. The older woman smiled without realizing it and leaned over to place a kiss to Yori's head. The ninja's face lit up when she realized that Shego was awake.

"You must be bored," Shego commented in a low, sleepy voice. She glanced down at her hand, so that the younger woman would know what she was talking about. The ninja picked up on it immediately.

"Not really. I am quite fascinated with all parts that are you," Yori replied in a low voice of her own, continuing to play with Shego's fingers. She smiled a bit when the fingers curled around her own for a few seconds.

"Well, in case you do get bored, check in my bag for a surprise," Shego said.

"A surprise?" Yori echoed, but Shego did not respond.

The ninja looked at her lover and knew that Shego was sleeping again. Curiosity beat out the contentment that came from fiddling around with Shego's hand. She reached down and grabbed Shego's carryon bag and opened it. She was not sure what she was looking for, but she found it on top of everything. She pulled out a portable DVD player that had a post-it attached to it. The post-it read: _Watch a couple of your anime DVDs on this and relax. Everything'll be fine. Ask me if you can't figure out how to work the DVD player_.

Yori was able to figure out the portal DVD player since she had used a regular DVD player since on assignment with Drakken and Shego. She grinned when she saw what anime Shego packed for her. Watching her favorite movies did keep her mind off of Yamanouchi and wondering just what Master Sensei wanted with her.

-8-8-8-8-

Yori and Shego stood at the foot of the mountain that housed Yori's ninja school. Yori was trying to mentally prep herself to break the rules. She had always been the model student, never doing anything wrong. Now, technically, she was not breaking the rules since she was not going to bring Shego completely inside the school, but it was still wrong. If Master Sensei found out, surely he would be disappointed in her and punish her. Just thinking of his disappointment made Yori pause, even now.

"Cherry blossom, don't worry. It'll be all right," Shego assured the younger woman, gently caressing the ninja's back. She could tell by the distant look in those onyx eyes that Yori was over-thinking the situation and allowing her programming to take over again.

"I have never done anything like this…" Yori took a deep breath, relaxing somewhat because of the sweet fingers rubbing her back. Shego thought that she was referring to bringing an outsider into the school, but found out differently. "I hope that this meeting truly has nothing to do with taking me off of this assignment."

"I'm sure it's just to talk about your contract or something," Shego tried to reassure her girlfriend. She was not totally sure what she was going to do if that was not the case, but she knew it would not be something good. After all, she already hated the school for brainwashing Yori.

"What if it is not…?" Yori muttered under her breathe. She did not know what she was going to do if the meeting was something serious.

"We should get moving, not like the school is going to come down to us," Shego remarked with a small smile, trying to lighten the mood. She did not think they should worry until there was a reason to do so.

Yori nodded in agreement and they started up the mountain, taking a less used path. The ninja did this with the hope that they would not be spotted. She did not want to risk starting trouble if someone saw her bringing Shego up the mountain. She told Shego about it and Shego agreed, so they were going to take a much more difficult path. Yori was stunned that Shego had so easily agreed to that.

The ninja knew how disagreeable Shego could be after spending a year with the thief and Doctor Drakken. She also noted how lazy Shego could be if given the chance, so she was not sure if Shego would mind the tough climb that they had ahead of them. She had no doubt that Shego could do it, but she just was not sure that Shego would want to. She was quite pleased with the pale woman made things easy on her and just agreed to the hike.

The pair started up the mountain in silence. Shego did want to complain, but she kept her comments to herself. _I hate being the mature one_ _sometimes_. Most of the time, she actually liked being the grown-up and taking care of Yori; it was a lot more fun than being the grown-up and pointing out what an idiot Drakken was. But, there were a few times when she just wanted to piss and moan as she had gotten into the habit of doing with Drakken. She wondered if she would ever get to that point with Yori.

Suddenly, Yori reached out and took Shego's hand in hers and Shego did not want to complain about anything at all. The very idea went out of her head and she doubted that she would ever want to complain to Yori if a simple move like holding hands could calm her so easily. _How can this girl do this to me?_ Shego decided that she did not care _how_ Yori could do it to her as long as the feeling continued.

The hike was long and hard and neither said a word to each other through out the trip. Even as dark settled on the mountain, they were still quiet and they came to a plateau. There were thick woods covering the land and Yori pulled Shego into them. The pale woman glanced around the forest, taking in the scene; it actually looked like something out of a horror movie. The branches were all crooked and bent sharp angles. There were leaves covering some of the dark trees, but not much. The deeper they went, though, the more leaves showed up, giving them more cover. The leaves seemed darker than they should, as if they were closer to black than green. Shego did not say anything because the color provided them with more cover, but she did think it was a little creepy.

"There should be a cabin somewhere around here," Yori said, glancing around for the cabin and also to make sure they were not being stalked.

"It wouldn't happen to have hot water, would it?" Shego asked with a teasing smile, sweat rolling down her cheek. She would love a hot shower, though.

"Uh…I am sorry, Shego-san. There is no water in the cabin at all," Yori explained and she hoped that did not bother Shego. She knew that her lover liked the finer things in life and that was definitely evident during their time in Hawaii. She wished that she could give Shego that, but it was impossible at the moment.

"I had a feeling about that. It's okay, Cherry blossom. Although I am a city gal, I can definitely rough it for a few days, especially if it means I get to take you back to civilization," Shego remarked.

The Japanese woman could not help the smile that conquered her face. She hoped that she would be able to leave with Shego. She tried to think positive, like Shego seemed to be doing, but there was a feeling deep in her guts that would not allow it. It felt like her stomach was tying itself in a knot and she did not think that was a good sign.

"Is that the cabin?" Shego asked, breaking Yori away from her negative thoughts. She pointed a little to the left and ahead of them.

The ninja squinted a little as she peered off into the distance. "Yes, that is it. I hope you will be all right while you are there."

"I'll be fine, cherry blossom. I'm a big girl. You go handle your business and I'll hold things down here," Shego tried to assure her girlfriend, giving her a confident half-smile while she spoke.

"Are you sure?" Yori asked, turning to face Shego and searching emerald eyes to make sure she was going to be all right.

"I'll be fine. I have camped out and shit before. Now, you go find out what the hell these people want from you while I get settled in, okay?"

Yori nodded, figuring that Shego made some sense. She would like to get things over with, if only to find out what Master Sensei really wanted with her. Before leaving, though, she went into the cabin with Shego to check things out.

The cabin was old and dusty; Shego would not have been surprised if it was blown away by a light breeze. It had one room and a fire pit in the center of the room. They suspected that it was something from a few centuries ago and no one had lived in it for a very long time. Shego leaned against the wall, wanting to check the wood. The place seemed sturdy enough—hey, she did not fall through the wall—so Shego figured that she should be fine in for a few days.

"I doubt it's going to fall down in a heavy wind, even though it does look that way," Shego commented, eyes wandering up and down the dirt-caked walls. There did not seem to be any signs that she would be sharing the cabin with anything that would cause a problem, which she supposed was good. A crazy animal would have been a welcomed distraction when Yori left, though; it would keep her from worrying about the ninja being back at that school without any support right there.

"I am so sorry for this, Shego-san," Yori apologized, eyes down, staring at her feet in shame.

"Cherry blossom, you don't have to apologize. I wanted to come." Shego turned her attention to her lover and embraced her. "It'll be fine. By this time next week, we'll be laughing about our crazy trip to Japan where I had to sleep on the floor and had bugs crawling all over me."

"You think so?" the younger woman asked in a small voice. She hoped that was the truth. She wrapped her arms around the thief, as if hugging Shego would make her words completely true.

"I know so. Now, I'll be fine. I've got my sleeping bag, food, and water for a few days. I'll be totally fine," Shego promised.

"Okay. There is a small creek a little further into the woods. So, if you run out of water or if you want to take a quick bath you can do it there," Yori said.

"Yori, I will be fine!" Shego promised again with a huge grin, hoping that would drive things home for her girlfriend.

"Okay, sorry. I am just so nervous."

Shego held onto the younger woman tighter. "There's nothing to worry about. Go ahead to the school. I'll be right here, so you know where to find me if you need to talk again."

Yori took a deep breath and reveled in the feeling of being in the strong arms of her lover for a few more moments. She allowed the embrace to give her strength and she finally stepped away from Shego after what seemed like an eternity to them. Onyx eyes focused on emerald for what seemed like another eternity.

"Go on," Shego encouraged her, slapping her lightly on the ass to get her moving.

Yori let out a surprised yelp and took off out of the door. Shego chuckled to herself and then finally took in where she was going to stay. She frowned and shook her head.

"Okay, I've got it bad for this girl if I'm willing to put up with this shit," Shego commented to herself…and whatever wildlife was hiding around the place. It was the only way for her to explain how she was in Japan and not staying in one of the greatest hotels in Tokyo or Kyoto or something. Instead, she was in a dilapidated cabin on a remote mountain with no running water or heat. _Perfect_.

She checked out her surroundings to make sure she was alone. The woods were quiet, in a creepy sense. There was no movement around her, not even from any animals from what she could tell. She marched through the forest and found the stream that Yori told her about. It was there that she saw her first signs of life; there were fish moving around in the clear water.

"For a second, I thought I might be caught in a damned horror flick. All I need right now is some ninja in a hockey mask trying to hack me to bits with a rusty chain saw," the thief said to herself while returning to the cabin.

She started setting herself up around the cabin, pulling out her sleeping bag. She put the bag in a corner after brushing away as much of the dust as she could using a leaf-covered tree branch. After laying out her bag, she checked on what types of food she had and estimated how long it would last. She was trying her best to keep her mind from wandering to Yori. She did not want to think about what might be happening to her girlfriend in that damned school.

"That Master Sensei bastard better not try to brainwash her anymore than he already has or I'll kick his ass," Shego vowed to the warm night air. She was not going to let that school or Master Sensei control Yori again.

-8-8-8-8-

Yori came into the school from the air rather than going through the front gate. She landed soundlessly onto the roof of one of the many buildings around the campus. She took in the still area, noting that there was no movement anywhere. She knew it was past curfew, so the students were in their rooms already. She frowned, thinking about how she would be in her room right now if she still lived there while if she was home with Shego, they would be out right now, probably at a show or dinner, living their lives.

Yori stuck to the rooftops, even though she knew that there was a great chance that would catch someone's attention. She just felt like she was a good enough ninja to make it to Master Sensei's home before someone caught her. It turned out that she was almost right. She made it to the building, but as soon as she was about to enter, two guards ambushed her. Before a fight broke out and Yori risked injury from their weapons, she made a quick move that let them know that she was a member of the school.

"Who are you?" one of the guards inquired in a suspicious voice.

"Yori. I was summoned by Master Sensei," she answered.

They nodded, showing that they were expecting her. They lowered their weapons and escorted her into the building. She was taken to a small sitting room and told to wait there. She kneeled down on the floor, sitting on her feet and resting her hands on her knees as she waited for her teacher to show up. Minutes ticked by, but she did not move from where she was.

"Yori," Master Sensei greeted her as he finally entered the room.

"Sensei," she replied while remaining in her kneeling position and bowing to him. She practically touched her forehead to the floor out of habit. She then mentally scolded herself for so easily falling into line. _I am my own person! I am my own person!_

"You have arrived so late," he noted.

"I know. My apologizes."

"You should have taken the flight as scheduled by the school."

Yori nodded. "I would have, but I required sometime to myself to think."

Master Sensei blinked hard, as if he did not understand her words. "What was there to think about?"

Yori pulled out one of the skills that made her such a good ninja; she lied very easily. "I was troubled by the note. I thought that I might have done something to displease the school and I spent time going over my assignment many times trying to pinpoint where I might have done something to make you upset with my job."

The elderly man nodded in understanding. "You always were a perfectionist."

"I only wish to honor my school and my teacher properly. Have I done anything that has displeased you or embarrassed our school?" she asked, keeping her tone even and respectful. On the inside, she was panicking. She did not know what she was going to do if he was upset with her and taking her off of her mission.

"You have not. You are always an excellent agent," he assured her.

"Then why such a note? You are pulling me away from my mission by having me come here," she pointed out.

"I am well aware of what I am doing. Now, why don't you go to your room and get a good sleep? We can discuss this more later on."

"Why not now? We are both here," she said, motioning between them.

Master Sensei blinked again, staring at Yori intensely. She gulped and schooled her features to remain cool, even though her guts were squirming like a ball of live worms. She knew why he was eyeing her so intently. She had never even nearly argued with him, so he found it strange that she was saying that they should talk now. She was ready to fidget under his gaze and found herself giving in, just as she always did with him.

"Forgive me, sensei. I must be overtired from my journey. Discussing this later would be fine," she said, saving herself from showing anxiety in from of him.

Master Sensei nodded in approval. "You should get some rest."

She nodded in agreement and that was the end of their meeting. Yori remained where she was until Master Sensei was out of the room, as was her habit. She then exited the house on her own and almost went to her room in the dorms, but stopped herself as she remembered Shego.

_She would be so ashamed of me_… Yori thought considering the way that she just deferred right to her master.

Even though she was certain that Shego would be ashamed of her, she ran right back to the older woman. She found the pale woman tucked away in her sleeping bag. Shego appeared to be asleep and she was about to leave the older woman alone, but a hand reached out and grabbed her. Yori almost leaped out of her skin.

"You know better than that," Shego teased the ninja with a smirk on her face.

Yori laughed a little. "I sometimes forget that you are technically a ninja too. Although you are much more unconventional," she said. No ninja from her school would be found in hostile territory sleeping on their back like Shego was.

"Yeah, so come on and climb in," Shego urged while tugging her lover toward her. She opened the bag a little to let Yori climb in. Shego hugged her close and she settled into the familiar warmth of the adoring body. Yori sighed from the contact, sounding very contented for that moment. As soon as she was settled, she tensed just a little.

"I am sorry…" the ninja suddenly apologized.

"And what is it that you're sorry for?" Shego inquired, sounding like she was making fun of the ebony-eyed woman.

"I did not find out why Master Sensei summoned me and I also fell right back into line with him. It was as if I had not spent the whole year with you and you trying to make me into my own person."

Shego kissed the top of Yori's head. "It's your first time seeing him in a year. I wouldn't expect you to act completely independent yet." Okay, really, she would have loved for Yori to stand up to the old blow-hard right away, but she guessed that was asking too much. Unfortunately, the supportive side in her would not let her say that to the ninja.

"I wish that I could have just demanded he tell me what he wanted and we would have been able to leave right now," Yori said with a yawn. She was exhausted just from being in the same area as Master Sensei.

"It's fine. There's always tomorrow. Just get some rest for now."

Yori nodded and did just that faster than she would believe. It was just that in Shego's arms, she knew that she was perfectly safe and she could easily sleep in the presence of the older woman. Shego made it seem like everything would be all right. Shego wished that she could feel the same way, but now, she wondered what the hell Master Sensei had up his sleeves and what he wanted with her lover.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Master Sensei tells Yori what her new assignment is.


	5. Summer school

I don't own these characters; Disney does.

5: Summer school

Yori rose with the sun, which had been a habit that she was broken of over the year that she was with Shego. She frowned, realizing that her programming—as Shego referred to it—was still in place, even though she thought that she was on her way of becoming her own person. Apparently, that progress had just been an illusion brought on by being so far from her school.

_Will they always have this hold on me? Will Master Sensei be able to take me from Shego? Will I go…because it is the honorable thing? Or will I go because I obey everything that Master Sensei says?_ Yori wondered. She hated to think that it would be the latter…although, she feared that she would be leaving Shego, no matter what the circumstances. It was like the school had a chain on her soul and could pull her back there no matter where she was and keep her there like a shackled prisoner.

She shook her head, trying to dispel those negative thoughts from her mind. She would not give up on Shego so easily, not after all that Shego had done for her. The honorable thing would be to continue to fight, she silently assured herself. The honorable thing would be to stay by Shego's side, to stay with the woman that showed her the world, to stay with the woman that showed her love, to stay with the woman that gave her everything without wanting something in return.

_I will not surrender without a fight. I will not leave Shego_, Yori vowed to herself.

She felt a small headache coming on from that promise because her sense of honor was now split. Her brain told her that the honorable thing to do was to follow her school and the orders of her master. But, her heart ordered that she should remain loyal to Shego and to do everything in her power to stay with the older woman. Right now, she felt like she was going to follow her heart, but in the pit of her stomach, she feared that she would follow her brain.

Glancing over to her side, she saw Shego's sleeping form and felt like that was all she needed to see. _To hell with my brain!_ She was going to go to Master Sensei right now and tell him that she was going to stay on her current assignment. She did not care how he replied. She tore herself away from her warm bed, determined to get things over with while she had her resolve in place.

The dawn greeted her with a gentle breeze as she sped toward the school. She entered quietly and without a problem, wanting to go right to Master Sensei. She was detoured from that plan, though, when she noticed an anomaly in the courtyard. She paused and approached.

"Ron-kun?" Yori inquired, sounding more confused than surprised as she approached the blonde ninja. She squinted her eyes, thinking that she might be seeing things. The image did not change—Ron Stoppable was standing before her.

"Yori! I was wondering if you were here or not!" Ron declared, grabbing the kunoichi into a familiar hug.

Yori blushed as she was practically engulfed by the young man, who had grown a little since the last time they saw each other. "Uh…Ron-kun…what are you doing here?" she asked curiously while wondering if the hug was lasting a little too long. She felt conflicted about pulling away, thinking that he might think she was being weird or rude, which she did not want. Still, for some reason that was beyond her, she was not very comfortable with how long and how big the embrace was.

"I'm here for training, of course. I've got all this crazy mystical kung-fu monkey crap and I need to control it," Ron explained with a happy smile. He was still holding her, even though it was not an outright hug anymore. It was still a little uncomfortable for the ebony-haired kunoichi.

"Oh…yes…" Yori muttered, stepping away, so that they not touching any longer. She recalled hearing about Ron tapping into his true power, but she had not seen it. She really had not taken the time to wonder about it either, having too much fun being with Shego the past year to let Ron cross her mind much, except for when their paths crossed.

"So, I'm here for at least the summer to learn how to control the power. I don't want to flip out and hurt someone seriously with it or anything," Ron added, some guilt clouding his vision.

Yori felt her heart go out for Ron and she took his hand in hers. "You did what you had to do to save not only the world, but Kim. You are a hero for your actions, for your bravery, and most of all for your heart. Never think otherwise. You are a hero." Her voice was strong, confident, and so solid that it was clear she was speaking the truth.

Ron nodded, but there was still sorrow in his eyes. "I know. It's just that when I tapped into it…it felt like it took control of me…you know?"

The Japanese woman nodded slightly. "I do…" she whispered. During her training over the years, she had tapped into a few things that frightened her. It was like the power was using her body instead of her using the power. Some of the things, she learned to control, but never used again because of the fear that it would take over again and have her do something that she truly regretted. _I don't want any more regrets_.

Ron smiled, but it did not light it his face like it usually would. "Then you understand."

"Very well, Ron-kun."

The smile remained on Ron's face and he took Yori into a hug again. Yori returned the embrace, but something felt wrong with it. She stepped back when he finally let her go, feeling that the safe thing to do between them was put some distance between them before he tried to hug her again. She regarded Ron with worried eyes, knowing something was wrong with him beyond wanting to learn how to control his powers.

"Ron-kun, I thought that you were at school now," Yori said, trying to gauge how long he was going to be there.

"It's summer break right now, Yori," he replied with a strange, crooked smile. She knew there was something behind it, but she was not sure what. Right now, she really wished that she was as naïve as she had been when she first met Ron, if only to miss some of things that she was noticing with her friend.

"Should you not spend that time with Kim-san?" Yori inquired. She knew that whenever she had a break, she sought out Shego, and as was her understanding, the nature of her relationship with Shego was the same as the nature of his relationship with Kim.

Ron chuckled a bit, which Yori took as odd because of how hollow the snickers sounded. Rubbing the back of his neck, Ron's cocoa eyes dropped to the ground for a moment. When he looked back up, he would not meet her eyes. She was not sure what to make of the move, but she knew that he was not telling her everything. She figured that she would get to the bottom of that later, but for now, she needed to handle her business before she got off-task.

"Ron-kun, I need to go," Yori said and she was about to walk off, but Ron grabbed her hand before she could get away. His hand was warm and held hers so gently. She turned to look into his eyes, seeing depths that she used to see in the chocolate orbs, but there was even more there.

"Stay and talk with me for a while. We haven't seen each other for a long time since I've got school and Kim doesn't really worry about Drakken anymore since you're on the case," he pointed out.

"Ron-kun, I need to go," she repeated, looking beyond him to her destination.

"Please." He sounded so needy with that one word, grabbing her attention and forcing her turn back to him. His eyes begged that she stay and chat with him.

Yori swallowed hard and found herself staying to talk to Ron. They did not talk about anything in particular, but he held onto her hand the whole time. After a while, she failed to notice. He told her about his college while she told him about working with Drakken, but neither of them went into very much detail. The only thing that broke them apart was the fact that Master Sensei summoned Ron to speak with him.

When Ron was out of sight, Yori realized that she had lost sight of her goal. She was supposed to go speak with Master Sensei first thing, but now she missed that chance. She stared down at her hand, feeling Ron lingering there for some reason. She wondered what it was she was feeling and why did it feel so good and so bad at the same time.

Yori waited for Master Sensei to become free again, which took all day. She wondered what he was saying to Ron, but she mostly pondered what she was going to say to him. Before, she had been certain that she was going to tell him to take his school and shove it, but right now, thinking about it, she knew that she could not say that to the man that saved her from a childhood of Hell, to the man that taught her how to defend herself, the man that taught her what honor was. She could not just abandon him; it would be dishonorable.

By the time Master Sensei had time to see Yori, the sun had set and she had settled on listening to what he had to say to her rather than to tell him what was on her mind. She honestly did not know what was on her mind anymore because she had spent so long thinking about why it was wrong to leave the school and why it was wrong to leave Shego. She was not sure what she should do or what she was going to do. She supposed that it would be best to at least hear what her teacher had in mind for her before she made a decision about anything.

"Master," Yori said, bowing to her teacher as she entered his sitting room.

"Yori," he replied and motioned for her to sit on a mat that was a few feet in front of him.

Yori quickly took to the mat, sitting on her feet as she settled. "You wished to see me?"

"I summoned you for a specific reason, Yori. It has nothing to do with you performing poorly on your current assignment. In fact, it has everything to do with the fact that you are one of my best ninja. I have a more important task for you to do than the one that you are currently on."

She almost arched a curious eyebrow, having seen Shego do the move more than a few times and adopted it as her own. She managed to keep the eyebrow down without so much as a twitch, though. "A more important task, sensei?" she echoed, sounding slightly confused.

"I know that you noticed Stoppable-san is here."

"I spoke with him earlier."

"Did he explain why he is here?" the teacher inquired curiously.

Yori shook her head. "He explained that he was here to learn to control his powers, which I could have gathered on my own, but nothing in great detail. His presence has something to do with my being summoned?" she figured anyway.

"Very much so. You have mastered many difficult and grueling ninja techniques, Yori. You have been where Stoppable-san has on many occasions, more than any other student here. I would like you to start his initial lessons."

For a moment, everything that Yori learned about keeping her cool vanished. She openly blinked hard, looking like she was not following what he was saying. He wanted her to teach Ron? He wanted her to teach the man that had inherited the highest powers in their entire art? He wanted her to teach possibly the most powerful ninja amongst them?

"Sensei…I am…flattered…" she mumbled, eyes searching his for some sign that he was only playing with her. He could not seriously be willing to handover such an important job to her.

"As you should be. This is an extremely important job, but I am sure that you understand that."

"I do, sensei, which is why I do not understand why you would want me to do it. This is something that you should undertake, correct?" she inquired. There was something wrong here, she knew. Why was he asking something so important of her? Surely such a situation should be left to his knowledgeable hand.

"I would like you to get Stoppable-san accustomed to our system and training before I handle anything intense with him. You have to remember that Stoppable-san has not trained as we do before."

Yori was quiet for a moment. "But…Ron-kun has school. He would not be able to get accustomed to our school."

Master Sensei nodded. "This is also why I asked for you to take him under your wing. Convince him that it would be in his best interest to remain with this school until his training is complete."

"Sensei?"

Calmly stroking his beard, he continued on. "He would be an excellent agent for us, Yori. He trusts you greatly and values your opinion above all others here. You must convince young Stoppable to stay with us and this is why you are needed here."

"And what of my contract with Drakken-san?" Yori inquired, hiding her emotions now. She was able to understand what was going on now. Master Sensei wanted to keep Ron and he was using her to do it. She was a ninja, a tool, his tool. She almost shook the thought away, but caught herself.

"Your contract with Drakken will be canceled. You are needed here now. I will work something out with Drakken," he calmly informed her. His voice always made it seem like what he was saying was the most natural way for things to be. It used to be very reassuring to her, convinced her that everything he told her was right, but now it made her skin crawl.

"You will send another agent to him?" she asked. Another agent might actually do the job that Drakken wanted and another agent might be able to befriend Shego, making the thief forget all about her. The latter part of the idea frightened Yori to the point where her stomach flopped and her insides trembled.

"You are most curious about it," he noted. It was not like her to ask so many questions about her duty.

"Forgive me, but I have worked this assignment for a year. I have never had such a long task and I am not too sure how I am to react to changing it after so long," she apologized, sounding as humble as he recalled.

"You did a wonderful job and the contract was able to provide many things for the school, but now you are needed here."

Yori's mind was overrun with thoughts and she did not know what to do with them. Her body and brain reacted automatically to her master. "Yes, sensei," she verbally agreed, even though mentally, she was spinning.

"The school is depending on you, Yori. You must get Stoppable-san to remain here and train with us. We cannot risk him getting into the hands of our enemies," Master Sensei urged her, making a fist to show that they all had to be strong.

"Yes, sensei," she agreed again.

"We will talk more about it tomorrow."

"And my contract with Drakken-san? How will you cancel it?" she inquired, mouth getting ahead of her brain.

"I will get into contact with him soon to let him know that you will not be returning. Now, as I said, we will discuss this further tomorrow. It is getting late and you may wish to speak with Stoppable-san a little more before you both have to go to your rooms."

Yori nodded, unsure of what else she could do. She stood up and bowed to her master before leaving his presence. She was trying to fathom what was going on and what it was that she just agreed to. _Did I agree to leave Shego-chan to teach Ron-kun?_

She could not believe that she agreed to such a thing, but then again, she could understand why she did—beyond the fact that she could not seem to disobey Master Sensei. She was Ron's friend and she would like to help him control his frightening new powers; she knew how that could be. Underneath it all, part of her wanted to spend time with Ron. She guessed it was because they were friends, but she knew that should not override her desire to stay with Shego.

Now, of course she did want to stay with Shego, but she did not see how that was possible. Her contract was being canceled and she doubted there was anything that she could say that would change that. She was a tool of Master Sensei and it was her honor to do his bidding. She could not go against him; besides, it would be wrong, she reminded herself. He was the man that saved her. The least she could do was help him and the school that made her who she was today.

She quickly shook her head. No, the school used her, made her a toy, and brainwashed her into being a thing rather than a person. Shego made her who she was today; a human being, someone that was cared for, someone that would be missed, she silently argued. A sound headache started to make its presence known, throbbing in her temples.

"Hey, Yori," Ron said, throwing off her thoughts, as he jogged up to her.

"Oh, hello, Ron-kun," Yori greeted him as he stood by her side. They were standing in one of the smaller common areas of the school.

"You okay? You looked like you were in deep thought," he noted.

"I was thinking about something. Nothing important," she assured him with a forced smile.

"Okay. I'm glad I caught up with you. Did Master Sensei tell you about why I'm here and everything?" he asked curiously.

"He did explain it. He wants me to teach you," she replied. She was trying her best not to sound troubled by this, but it was not working. Ron did not seem to notice her apprehension.

"That's great!" He grinned widely.

She blinked hard and squinted, looking as if she did not understand. "Is it? You are going to miss school if you stay here to train."

Ron tilted his head, regarding her oddly. "I don't mind missing school right now. I feel so anxious inside. I need to get this thing under control."

"And what about Kim? You would be away from her for a very long time. She would not be able to visit, not just because she is an outsider, but also because you would not need that distraction," Yori pointed out. She considered that he might not have thought this through. He did not know how Yamanouchi was, he did not know what he was expected to give up. Surely if he knew, he would never consider training at Yamanouchi, she thought.

"I know…" Ron did not elaborate on that, which Yori thought was strange.

"Are things all right with you and Kim?" Yori asked. It seemed so weird that he would be willing to be away from his girlfriend for possibly years. And now that she thought about it, she had just agreed to the same. _Fool_._ Damned tool_, she cursed herself.

Ron laughed; it was clearly forced. Yori figured that was the answer to her question. She wondered what was going on between Kim and Ron. She thought that it might have something to do with his trouble with this new power of his and his actions when the Earth had been invaded.

"Ron-kun?" Yori asked, hoping that he would say something.

"So, you're going to teach me? That's really great!" he grinned again and clapped his hands together in excitement.

Yori smiled, finding his light-hearted grin refreshing. It made her feel a bit lighter with her decision to see him smiling at her. This troubled her because she had a feeling that she should not feel that way about Ron. Everything was so confusing, making her headache just a little worse with every passing second. She was not sure what she was going to do about anything anymore.

She ended up having dinner with Ron in the school cafeteria, but her headache was not helped. She was comfortable around him, but that was one of the things adding onto her pounding head. By the time she made it back to Shego, all she wanted to do was curl into the warm body of her girlfriend and sleep forever. Shego embraced her as soon as she showed up.

"Cherry blossom, are you all right?" Shego asked quietly as the ninja curled into her chest, wanting to go to sleep.

"I do not know…" the younger woman muttered while wrapping her arms around Shego. She pressed herself to the older woman as if she was trying to fuse them together. _Maybe this will give me strength to do what I must...whatever that is_.

"Can we go back home yet?" Shego inquired.

"Master Sensei wishes to talk to me again tomorrow." _And maybe after tomorrow we can go back home. I hope because I know I want to stay with Shego, but I do no want to worry or upset her right now_.

"What did he want today with you then?" the thief asked.

"Um…" Yori hesitated.

"Cherry blossom, tell me what he wanted," Shego ordered in a stern tone. She had a feeling something was wrong. The way that Yori was pressed into her was wrong. The vibe and the feel coming from Yori was bothersome.

"He is going to cancel my contract with Drakken," Yori whispered and then she burrowed deeper into Shego's chest, wanting to hide from the world in the safety of lover. Shego tensed for a quick moment, but did not react to the news in any other way, knowing that she needed to maintain her cool for Yori's sake.

"It'll be okay, baby," Shego promised, holding the ninja tightly. She leaned down and placed a light kiss to her girlfriend's inky hair.

Yori made a noise and drifted off to sleep on that note, feeling exhausted from the turmoil of the day and comforted by the safe embrace. Shego sighed and tried to figure out what her next move was going to be. There was no way in hell she was going to leave Yori in Japan, in that school. She just could not do that, so she had to think of how she would somehow get Yori away from this place.

"I won't fail you, cherry blossom," Shego vowed and she kissed the top of Yori's head a second time. She then adjusted Yori in her arms to make sure she had a comfortable sleep through the night.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Shego is pushed to leave Japan…will Yori be with her?


	6. The writing on the wall

I don't own these characters.

6: The writing on the wall

Yori woke up still in Shego's arms and felt settled, but that feeling did not last. When she got back to the ninja school and met up with Ron, she was thrown off balance again. Something about his presence was bringing on a headache again, and she was starting to figure out what it was.

Yori realized that the strange feeling that raced through her when Ron smiled at her or touched her were the remnants of the emotions that she felt for him a couple of years ago. Were the emotions still there? Were the emotions coming back to life? What did that mean? The questions themselves hurt her head, and the emotions that she felt from being around Ron were not helping at all.

She could have sworn that she was over him, but she recalled that this was really the most time she and Ron had spent together alone since they met up again. Usually, they hung out a couple of hours every few weeks with their girlfriends present. This took their attention off of each other much of the time. Now, they were focused solely on each other, making nonsense conversation since Yori was not sure when she was supposed to start Ron's training. She was not sure if she wanted to start his training, but that was something totally different.

Yori really wanted to tell Ron to get out while he could. But, for some reason, she could not; her brain would not allow it. She could not bad-mouth the school, especially not to Ron. She could see that he had so much faith in Master Sensei and he really believed that he would be able to control his powers if he stayed in the school. She did not want to be the one to take that from him; it seemed almost like stealing his innocence to her. He did not know what kind of training it would mean to stay. He was not aware of what it meant to stay, but she could understand his position. She had been there many times before; hell, she thought that she might still be there as far as faith in the school went. There had to be some reason for why she could not just run away, she figured. The throbbing in her temples started as a small, steady pulse.

"Yori, are you okay?" Ron asked curiously. They were sitting in the grass, away from the school really, but still on school grounds. He noticed that she was not her usual self, the self that he got to know over the last year. The happy girl that smiled often and marveled over simple things. She seemed subdued and melancholic, like a sadder version of the Yori he first met three years ago.

"I am fine, Ron-kun," she lied. Her mind was going a mile-a-minute and around in circles, making sure she continued to have a thumping headache. Everything seemed so bemusing and it was hard to focus on anything.

Concern seeped into brown eyes and Ron put his hand on her shoulder, caressing her slightly. "You don't seem fine. You seem really distracted."

She silently argued with herself about moving his hand, but in the end, left it where it was. "I…I was just thinking about how I should go about training you…" she lied again. It was what she should be thinking about, but it was very far from her mind. She was really thinking about how she was going to get out of the mess that she was in, but nothing was coming to mind.

"Well, we don't have to jump into that right away, do we?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck. Thankfully, he did so with the hand that was on her shoulder.

She blinked hard; that seemed like a weird thing to say and his detached expression only added to that. He was making it seem like it was such a big deal for him to get the training, but now he was saying that they did not need to jump into it right away. He was starting to sound as confusing as she felt. She did wonder if he was just as baffled as she was and had no clue what he was doing too.

"Ron-kun, really, what is going on with you?" she inquired. Something was just so damn wrong here!

"Yori, I don't know," he admitted with a defeated sigh. His shoulders slumped and he stared out into nothing, not meaning to show such bewilderment, but unable to stop his reaction. "I just have all this power—" he started out, trying to shake off his slip, but she cut him off.

"I think there is more to it than that. I know what you had to do and I know you feel some guilt over it, but things seem even more beyond that," she stated.

Ron nodded, but he did not say anything in response. He was not sure what he was feeling. He just knew that his life was not going right at the moment and he was very troubled by his powers and how it felt like they controlled him. It touched him deeply when Yori expressed being able to understand him. It felt like she was the first person that did understand and talking with her now and yesterday let him know that she did understand. He felt better than he had in weeks thanks to that.

"You know, talking to you makes me feel really good," he informed her, a small, warm smile gracing his features. The smile seemed to have more behind it than the usual friendliness that she had come to expect from him. His eyes shined in a manner that she was not accustomed to seeing when he looked at her.

"Why?" she asked with genuine curiosity. Talking with him was making her just more and more bewildered. It was like her world was flipped upside down and now turned backwards. His expression was only adding to that, and causing the throbbing in her head to increase in pace.

"I just feel like you get me. You know?" He leaned over and put his arm around her shoulders, gently pulling her to him.

Yori glanced at the limb over her body. Part of her wanted to run, but there was a part of her that wanted to move just a little closer to Ron. The latter part figured it was all right to get close since she was going to be spending so much time with Ron anyway since she was going to be teaching him. That thought alone crushed another part of her, though. She felt like she was in a million pieces right now. The only reason she did not start crying was because she did not feel comfortable breaking down in front of Ron.

"It's good to have someone understand me for once," he continued on.

Yori was confused again. Once more, his words just seemed plain weird. He was being weird and he was making her feel weird; that was just the best way for her to put things. There were all sorts of alerts going off in her head, but she ignored them, thinking that her instincts might be off just because she was so puzzled by everything going on. This was the first time that she ever ignored her instincts, but then again, this was also the first time that she ever felt this perplexed about anything. Life used to be so simple.

"Do you get what I mean, Yori?" he asked since she was being so quiet.

"I know that it is quite nice when it feels like someone understands you and tries to help you," she answered. _Shego…_

"Yeah, it does."

She felt like that about Shego. Shego understood her and helped her. She was about to ask him if it was the same between him and Kim, but he tossed that question out of her mind with his next move. Ron leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. Onyx eyes opened wide with shock, but even more shocking than his move was the fact that she kissed him back despite how stunned she was.

By the time she closed her eyes, taking in the kiss, Ron was pulling away. They stared at each other, dazed for a moment. And then their eyes shot downward, realization dawning on them with what they had done. They were not about to share what was going through their minds, but Yori figured at that point her head was just going to blow right off of her shoulders because of how confused she was about everything.

Yori felt like she had a billion questions bombarding her already aching, pounding brain. Why had he done that? What was going on with him and Kim? Why did that feel good, but horrible at the same time? Why did it feel like her dead emotions came to life, but she died a little at the same time? What was she supposed to do about this? What was she supposed to tell Shego? It was all just too much, but her mind settled on Shego.

She thought about how it felt when Shego kissed her and then she thought that she should just forget that. She was not going to be seeing Shego anymore, so what she did with Shego no longer mattered. She was going to have to stay at the school and teach Ron. What did all of that mean? Did that mean that she should forget Shego altogether? She did not know, but she thought it would be impossible to forget about Shego and the way that Shego made her feel.

Yori put her hands up to rub her temples while sliding away from Ron. He reached out, about to put his hand on her shoulder, but he thought better of it. Instead, he moved away too and rubbed his face with his hand. Neither of them noticed emerald eyes perched in a tree not too far away, looking down on them.

-8-8-8-8-

Shego growled to herself and almost found herself shooting into the school ground to rip Ron's throat out with her bare hands. The only thing stopping her from doing just that was the fact that Yori was sitting right next to him. She did not want to see Yori's reaction when she killed Yori's first friend and apparently new love-interest. The thought of Stoppable being with Yori, more accurately the thought of losing Yori, made Shego literally vomit. Thankfully, she was on the ground when her stomach decided to send back her modest breakfast.

It was that reaction that made Shego realize that she had to get away before she saw anymore kissing or intimate contact between the pair. Revenge would have to wait, even though her brain was begging for it already; her heart pled for escape. She retreated as quickly and quietly as she could, not wanting to draw attention to herself. The last thing she wanted—aside for seeing Yori kiss Ron again—was for someone to see her emotionally overwhelmed and running away from a problem.

She fled back to the cabin that she was staying in and paced the inside of it. She was ready to just pack up all of her stuff and leave Japan at that very moment. Why should she stay after all? She was there for Yori, but Yori seemed to be there for other reasons.

_Has she been lying to me?_ Shego wondered.

She did not know what to think after what she just witnessed. Had Yori and Ron been carrying on ever since they reconciled almost a year ago? Was it something that just happened right now? Was she going to stay in Japan just to be with him? Why had she not said anything about him being there in the first place? What other secrets were being hidden?

All of the questions made Shego's mind whirl. She wanted to jump to so many conclusions, but found that she could not. Her mind just would not allow her to prejudge Yori. Her mind would allow her to be angry, though, so she seethed.

The anger covered up the hurt, the betrayal that she was feeling from seeing Yori kiss Ron. The lies by omission—_who knows how many there_'_s been!_—that Yori told her added fuel to her fury. The way that she gave Yori everything inside of her, only to be turned out as soon as the opportunity presented itself…whether that was now or a year ago was irrelevant because the wounds were fresh. The wounds were burning.

She sat there and let the wounds fester. Even when she made herself a little dinner, all she could think about was how pissed off she was, about how she should have never trusted a trained liar, and how she never should have given two damns about Yori in the first place. Those were surefire ways to get hurt.

But, who would have thought that she would be hurt by someone that seemed like such an angel? Yori was sweet, considerate, and a little naïve. The ninja girl wanted to save the world for crying out loud. How does one get hurt by that? Apparently, Shego found a way because the more she thought on it, the more her wounds boiled, bubbled, and burned.

Yori slipped in late that night, just as she had the previous two nights. Shego was not laying down like before, instead propped up against the wall with one leg up and bent at the knee. She did not acknowledge Yori's presence, even when the younger woman was right in her face.

Yori did not say anything, merely crawled over to Shego and then made the surprise move of the night. She pressed her lips to Shego's, kissing her softly, but with desperation. She was stunned when Shego pushed her away and retreated from her mouth. She whimpered and gave chase to the angry thief, going in for another kiss, only to find herself being resisted again.

Yori made a sound like she was crying as she tried her best to just experience one of her life's greatest pleasures. She reached out, holding to take hold of Shego to keep her from retreating, but Shego grabbed her wrists. They wrestled around a bit while Yori trying her best to kiss Shego and touch her, but Shego was also trying her best to prevent that. In the end, Shego had to flip over onto her back and hold Yori in a tight bear hug.

"What the hell are you trying to do?" Shego demanded.

"I wanted to kiss you…to hold you…to have you love me again…" Yori explained in a low, tearful tone.

"You think that I'm going to make love to you right now with the way you're acting?" Shego asked incredulously. She could not believe that the ninja would kiss Ron that morning and then expect her to make love to her that night.

"Why? Why will you not love me like in Hawaii? Am I not good enough for you now?" Yori countered, tears slipping down her cheeks.

"Yori, what the hell is your problem? You can't come in here and jump on me and expect results! I'm not your toy! Especially not after what I saw you doing this morning!"

"This morning?" Yori echoed and then she outright sobbed as she realized what her lover was talking about. She knew right then and there that Shego saw her, knew what she did, and that made her stomach drop, fear consuming her as she wondered how that would affect her relationship with Shego.

"Yeah, this morning, when you were fucking kissing Stoppable. Was it everything you thought it would be or was he so lacking that you figured you come in here and screw around with me?" Shego snarled.

"It was not like that! He is going through a rough time—" Yori tried to explain…at least she thought that she was trying to explain, but it did not sound that way to her girlfriend. It sounded like an excuse to Shego and she was not going to accept that.

"Oh, so you decided to comfort him? He has a fucking girlfriend for that!"

"I know! I do not know what he was doing or what I was doing! Everything is so confusing!" Yori bawled. Tears poured down her face touching down on the dusty floor, blowing up dust like tiny wafts of mist.

"What the hell is so confusing?" Shego demanded, snarling, her hot breath hitting against Yori's wet cheek. "What the hell is so confusing about you having a girlfriend and him having a girlfriend? Tell me!"

"I do not know what I am doing anymore, Shego-chan! He missed me and emotions I thought were dead flooded to the surface! Would it be so wrong to be with him when I have to stay here anyway? I cannot disappoint my master, no matter what you think of me! I have no honor, no will of my own! I am nothing!"

"Yori, you need to take a step back and look at your fucking life, look at the person you want to be. I thought you knew, but then, two days into a trip here and I've fucking lost you that easy! You'd leave me for Ron in a second, wouldn't you? Wouldn't you?"

"NO! I do…not know…" Yori confessed. She was not sure what she would do about anything anymore.

"How does that even sound? I've been with you through all of this shit and you're ready to just give up on me that quick? Why the fuck did I ever bother with you? You're just going to give your all to this fucking school, let them suck you dry, and then beg for more? You fucking idiot!"

Shego tore herself away from Yori and stormed out of the cabin. Yori screamed hoarsely, reaching out for her retreating lover. She knew that Shego would not be coming back, not now, and it shredded her insides entirely. She knew that she screwed up, but she was not sure how big. She cried while holding onto the hope that Shego would come back to her and they could talk about it. Surely Shego would be able to help her settle her mind and sort things out.

-8-8-8-8-

Shego snorted as she paced down by the small stream. She would not be surprised if her plasma came out of her nose from the way that she was feeling, as if her whole body was on fire. She wanted to hit something to release her frustration, so she punched a nearby tree. Some of the pressure seemed to be gone, so she started to wail on the thick tree.

Eventually, the tree fell; she wore through the whole bark. After that, she dropped to her knees and panted heavily. Water was welling up in her eyes, but she refused to let tears fall. She was not going to show that Yori hurt her, but she would show that she was angry.

"Stupid fucking idiot!" Shego hollered, not sure who she was talking about, herself or Yori.

She should have known that letting Yori come back to Yamanouchi was a mistake, but she wanted the younger woman to face the fear and to hopefully find out that they would not be taking Yori away. Instead, she found out that not only was Yori not coming back home with her, but that the damn school still owned Yori. They still had her mind and could still manipulate her somehow. Their year together had done nothing for the poor ninja, except put up a paper mask, disguising the fact that she was still their robot.

Shego wanted to be resentful and just leave Yori to the fate that she was so willingly accepting, but something inside of her refused her even that small emotion that she was used to. Her brain insisted that Yori deserved to rot for what she had done, but her heart reminded her that Yori was so impressionable and the school had manipulated her for so many years. It was unfair to expect her to be better so soon.

"Why the fuck am I making excuses for her?" Shego wondered aloud, her face twisting into a snarl as she spoke to the air.

She knew why she was making those excuses. She wanted to take some of the blame off of Yori by somehow making it the school's fault. The school had not forced Yori to kiss Ron, but the school had made her seem like there was no way out, that she was going to be staying there forever, and forever at the school with Ron seemed to sound better than forever alone and a puppet.

"Fuck…" Shego muttered while shaking her head. As hurt as she was, she could not help thinking about Yori. Her feelings for the younger woman ran deep, deeper than she realized, she gathered.

She could only guess what was going through Yori's mind right now, but she knew confusion was at the top of the list. Well, this was one thing that Yori needed to sort through on her own because Shego was not going to sit around and try to clear Yori's mind only for the ninja to find out that she wanted to stay at the school or she wanted to try to give Ron a go. She believed it would be more healthy for Yori to figure things out on her own too; beside, if she saw Yori again right now, she knew that she would just blow up on her again.

With a deep breath, Shego figured out just what she was going to do. She was going to do one thing for Yori and then the rest was up the kunoichi. Yori had to learn to stand up for herself and express herself, Shego thought.

The thief pulled herself up to her proper height. She wiped her eyes to make sure that any evidence of tears was gone. She then marched off into the dark, quiet woods.

-8-8-8-8-

Master Sensei awoke from his sleep with a start. He felt hot, needle-like points to his throat. He glanced over to his left and was able to make out a figure sitting next to him on his bed.

"These are some nice digs you got around here. I know the students don't get anything like this," Shego commented, looking around the large bedroom. It was decorated with rich antiques and the teacher did not sleep on a flat futon that Yori described her bed as at the school.

"You do know that you are a walking ghost now," Master Sensei threatened her.

"I've had scarier threats in my day. I'm not too much worried about your school coming after me. You gotta admit, I can't be too much of a pushover if I got in here without a problem, right?" she pointed out, cocky smirk on her face.

"What is it you want?"

"I want to talk business. Now, we can either discuss it using the color green or the color red." She dug her nails into his throat just a little, so he had an idea of what red she was talking about.

"What business would you like to discuss?" he asked in a calm manner.

"I would like to buy a ninja's contract."

"For how long?"

"Life," she stated simply. "How much would that cost?"

"That would depend on the ninja."

"Yori."

"You cannot have Yori."

Shego smirked, knowing that she could have just about anything that she wanted if she put her mind to it. All she needed to do was let her money do the talking, so she started up. She gave him a figure and he scoffed, so she gave him another one and she just kept going until he could not scoff anymore. When he was eyeing her as if asking if she was serious, she knew that she had him. _Greedy bastard_.

"Why would you pay so much for someone that only knows how to be a tool?" he inquired with an arched eyebrow. He wondered briefly if she knew something about Yori that he did not, but he believed that to be impossible. He knew Yori better than she knew herself; he was more than certain of that.

"That's my business. Do we have a deal?"

"We would have to finalize everything tonight."

"Of course."

Shego knew that Master Sensei had a price, even if it was a rather high one. She did not care, though. She had done her last good deed for Yori. After that, the ninja had to make her own decisions. She returned to the cabin to find Yori gone and she suspected that the kunoichi had gone to Ron for comfort. The thought cut a frown on Shego's face and she quickly packed her belongings. She did leave Yori a note, which was very brief, explaining that the school no longer owned Yori and she was now free to chose her life, even if she chose to stay.

Deep down, Shego had a feeling that she was never going to see Yori again. Yori was a puppet and the master had tugged her strings. It was a sad and sorry fact that ate away at her insides, but it was not something that she could change, no matter how much she wanted too or how much she tried. She could not force Yori to be what she wanted because that would make her no better than Master Sensei.

"Goodbye, cherry blossom," Shego said into the dawn wind. It was great while it lasted.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Yori finds out what's going on with Ron and then goes to have a talk with Master Sensei.


	7. Broken

I don't own these characters; Disney does.

7: Broken

Yori wandered in the woods, hoping that she would come across Shego. She was not sure how long she had cried, but once her tears dried up, all she could think about was finding Shego and begging Shego to tell her what to do, what would make things right. She did not find Shego, though. Nor did she find any answers.

She searched the mountain woods high and low, crying on and off while she did so. The sun came and went and she did not bother to return to the school. She just wanted to see Shego, but it was not meant to be. She returned to the cabin eventually, thinking that Shego might be there. All that greeted her was still, stale air and an envelope waiting in the fire pit.

A lump settled in Yori's throat as she approached the letter with true fear in her heart. She instinctively knew this letter was going to tell her that she lost what she considered the best thing in her life. _And for what_, she silently demanded to know. It felt like she was empty, she lost everything inside of her if Shego was truly gone. She lost herself for this school; she gave herself for this school…knowing they would never return the favor, knowing they would never give her what she needed, and knowing they would never fulfill her.

She sat down and opened the letter. Tears flowed down her cheeks like a tiny storm as she read. As suspected, she had lost Shego. It felt like everything inside of her and everything that made up who she was beyond the physical was shredded into tiny bits and drowned in magma. She let loose the most anguished wail ever and proved there was life in the forest because all sorts of animals scrambled for shelter because of the noise.

-8-8-8-8-

Shego got home in record time and was upset with herself for going to the condo instead of returning to the lair. She had never been in the condo without Yori; it was _their_ home. It was empty without Yori. It was dead without Yori. It was a tomb without Yori and Shego was ready to bury herself alive right there, but wanted somewhere less personal to die…if only to lessen the pain.

As she left Japan, her anger had given way to her anguish and she was starting to understand just how much Yori meant to her. Yori was not just a hangout partner or a roommate or even someone for her to spoil rotten while taking care of the younger woman. Yori was even more than just a girlfriend, a lover. Yori was so much more than a label, a name, or even an emotion.

Yori was her reason to wake up in the morning, her reason for breathing, her reason for being. Thoughts of taking Yori out helped her make it through rough days with Drakken. Being close to the little ninja helped keep down her raging temper. Sometimes when she was with Yori, she did not see anything to ever be upset about; life always seemed so good. Holding her girlfriend always seemed like the greatest thing, soothing away any trouble inside of the older woman; it was Shego's "best thing ever!" Now, that feeling was gone and it was replaced by the flip-side of all of those peaceful and serene feelings.

She doubted that she could feel any worse if she was drawn, quartered, and burned alive. The feeling surprising got worse and everything cut deeper as she passed by Yori's room. She gritted her teeth and tried her best to override the pain with rage while making sure she did not vomit.

"I'll send her her shit later on," Shego declared out loud, trying her best to sound angry, but she sounded like she was going to burst into tears. She felt like she was going to cough up all of her internal organs as she rushed past the room.

It was not until she hit her bedroom that she finally broke. She noticed Yori's pajamas resting neatly on top of the bed, reminding her of where Yori slept right before they left for Hawaii. Shego dropped to her knees and let out a loud, dry sob into her carpet. It did not stop there; she hollered into the floor, releasing all of the agony inside, but not feeling any better.

Curling up into a tight, little ball, she flopped over to her side. She just lay there, not sure how long. When she finally had the strength to get up, she climbed to her feet and quickly fled her home. She left all of her things there and all of Yori's things. She went right to the lair, hoping that things would feel better there.

"Shego, you're back! I thought you were going to be on vacation forever! Now we can get started on my next plan!" Drakken declared while rushing out to meet up with Shego.

He was grinning from ear to ear. She knew it was because he was happy to have company; that was also the reason that he had a hair-brain scheme waiting. She wanted to just throw herself into the work, but she did not feel up to it. She just waved Drakken off as she went marching toward one of the empty rooms in the lair; she did not even think to bother with her own room since she used to share that room with Yori.

"Shego, where's Yori? She went with you, right?" Drakken inquired curiously with his brow furrowed in confusion. He knew that Yori was with her, which was why he had been so lonely for the last week and a half, but he could not figure out why Yori was not with Shego now.

"Yori's probably not coming back, so just drop her from your mind," Shego ordered in a hard tone while continuing to walk. She started speeding up her step, wanting to get away from Drakken before he started asking a million questions that she did not want to answer.

"Not coming back? What do you mean, not coming back? She has to come back! We have karaoke in a few days!" Drakken pointed out in a bewildered panic. He balled his hands into tight fists, as if he was about to throw a tantrum, but the wrath that was about to come down on him cut that thought out very quickly.

"Who gives a damn about karaoke! Just drop it! Yori's never coming back!" Shego screamed, finally getting to the room that she wanted. She entered and slammed the door in his face, shaking the metal walls in the process.

"Shego! What do you mean? Shego!" he hollered to the door, but he did not get a response. "Shego, where's Yori? Shego!" He pounded on the door with his small fists, demanding an answer of some kind as to where the ninja was. He sounded like he was near tears himself, not liking the idea that Yori would never come back. _It can't be true. She's part of our evil family. We do karaoke together_.

"Just go the hell away!" Shego bellowed while leaning against the door. She slid down to the floor and hid her face in her hands. Small noises escaped her throat while water poured through the gaps in her fingers.

-8-8-8-8-

Yori wandered the woods outside the school, searching for resolve that she doubted she had, but she knew that Shego had been trying to instill in her. She had thought on everything over and over again to the point where she had a pounding headache, but she felt like she had gotten nothing done.

And then, it hit her squarely right between the eyes. How could she turn her back on the woman that would do anything for her without wanting something in return for a school that, yes, had saved her, but wanted everything from her?

_It is all so simple. Why did I have to make it so difficult? How could I think it was honorable to abandon the one person to ever care about me just for myself?_ Yori asked herself.

She knew what she had to do, but before she did anything for herself, she had to help Ron. He was her friend, after all, and it was clear that he was hurting. Besides, she wanted him to understand what he could be getting into if he decided to stay at the school and become a student, thus becoming an agent. He needed to know what it meant to be a ninja for Yamanouchi.

She moved swiftly and silently, sneaking back into the school. She had to sneak into Ron's room, finding him twisted and laid out on his futon. She laughed a little and shook her head to the sight. She understood now why Shego would sometime look at her and utter the word "adorable" in her direction.

She crept by his head and sat down. She then put her hand over his mouth as she shook him awake. He yelped as he sat up, causing Rufus to roll down his chest. The bald rodent yelped and was ready to give whoever disturbed his rest a piece of his mind until he saw that the person was Yori. Ron noticed who it was much sooner and regarded Yori with a puzzled look.

"Yori, what's going on? Is this part of my training?" Ron asked curiously while letting loose a long yawn.

She shook her head. "This has nothing to do with training, Ron-kun, but everything to do with us."

"Us?" he echoed, showing he did not understand. She had his undivided attention.

"Ron-kun, we shared a kiss and we need to discuss it before anything else. Shego saw us and you know that she and I are together. Now, I somehow doubt that you did this to cause conflict between me and Shego."

"I didn't! I'm sorry, Yori. I didn't know Shego was around!" he insisted, sitting up to speak face-to-face with her.

"Regardless of that fact, you knew she and I were together, yet you kissed me anyway. I have to say that I am just as guilty since I kissed you back, knowing that you were with Kim and knowing that I was with Shego. I must explain that when I kissed you, I was very confused and it was sort of a silent surrender, but I am no longer giving up. Ron-kun, I love you as a friend, my very first true friend, but I love Shego in a way that cannot even be compared to you."

Ron nodded, sorrow painting his deep brown eyes. "Did I mess things up between you and Shego?"

"I caused my own problems. I did not treat Shego as she deserved and that is my own fault. I am troubled by why you would kiss me now, though. Why would you come to Yamanouchi for training now? Ron-kun, tell me, as your friend, what is going on in your life?" she gently inquired, sitting with her feet underneath her and her hands resting on her knees.

A blonde head shook and soulful brown eyes looked away for a long moment. "I've been feeling skittish lately. The powers thing has been bugging me, but there is more than that, which I guess you guessed a little anyway. I don't like being away from Kim at school and then she keeps taking these summer courses and crap, so it's hard for us to spend time together. I don't want to complain to her about it because I know this is important to her and I know her school is tough and everything. She's been introducing me to all the people she's met there and, god, let me tell you, she's meeting some top-crust people. Everybody has a 4.0 GPA and a double-major at the least and they're planning to be president of the universe and crap while I'm barely pushing out a 2.0 average and haven't even picked a major yet…"

Yori blinked, taking in as much as she could about what he was saying. She was not too sure what a "GPA" or a "major" was, but she got the gist of what he was saying. He did not think that he measured up to Kim's new friends.

"Ron-kun, did you think that running away would solve your problems or that if you learned to control your massive power that would somehow balance out things?" she asked curiously.

Ron laughed a little. "To tell you the truth, I'm not totally sure what I'm doing. I guess if I learn to control this power, I would feel more like I deserve to be with Kim and I can stand tall with all of the people she knows now."

Yori shook her head. "Has Kim ever cared about how you measure up against others?"

"Um…not really."

"I am sure it is because there is nothing to measure up against. You are her oldest and dearest friend as well as the love of her life. You are on a whole different level compared to everyone else that she knows. How could you not know that?" she asked. How could she not know that when it came to Shego, she wondered. _How could I treat her as anything less than that?_

Ron offered her a half-smile as if it was an apology. "You know, she tells me stuff like that…a lot more than she used to. I guess she's been reading my mind."

"She should be able to see how much sorrow is inside of you. She knows you best of all, after all."

He smiled for real this time. "You're right. I guess I just needed someone else to tell me that. Sorry I kissed you."

"Why did you do that anyway?" she inquired curiously.

"I don't know! I was just going crazy inside my own head. Maybe I thought I could start all over with you, so I did something stupid!" he groaned loudly and slapped his hands over his face. He could not believe that he did something so incredibly idiotic now that he thought about it.

"You were surrendering too, huh?" she asked quietly, eyes on the floor for a moment.

"I think so. Everything seemed like so much, but after talking about it, it doesn't seem like anything anymore."

Yori smiled. "I am glad. It feels the same for me. Sometimes, talking about things help more than you think." _I must remember that_.

He nodded. "It helped a hell of a whole lot," he remarked.

"Good because there is something else that I wish to talk to you about and it has to do with the school. I think you need to know what they did to me before you plan to stay here too long."

Ron blinked hard, thinking those were odd words from the ninja. "What they did to you?"

Yori nodded and started to explain how Master Sensei had taken her in after she ran away from abusive, uncaring family members after her parents died. The lies that he told her, filling her young, desperate mind with hope of a better life and doing good in the world, standing up for people that could not stand up for themselves and things like that. In return for learning ninjitsu and having a place to stay with three meals, she was expected to be blindly obedient and do everything that was requested of her from her teachers without ever questioning. She was taught that it was honorable to do everything that the school wanted of her because it was the school that saved her and that was told to her constantly until it became her only mode of thinking. Many of the other students were the same.

She had to pause before she explained many of the things she had been talked into doing by reminding her that it was her honor to obey the school and making her believe it was the right thing to do, obeying the school. She regretted many things, hurt many people—some who did not deserve it—and worst of all, Yori told him something that she had not even told Shego…she had blood on her hands. Blood put there to save what she thought was her honor, blood that was put there from orders of her teachers that she obeyed, even when she thought it was wrong.

"Yori…" Ron was not sure what to say. He guessed that Yori understood him more than he would have ever thought.

Tears flowed down her face. "I cannot redeem myself from the lives I have taken, but I can save you from condemning yourself. You know what it is like to take a life, but you did so to save the world, to save your love. I have done it from orders, like a mindless puppet. I do not want you to ever have to do that. I do not want you to ruin yourself and your psyche for this school. You can learn to control the powers on your own, Ron-kun. You are _that_ talented, but you have to apply yourself and dedicate yourself to it. I would still love to teach you, to help you, but I cannot do that from here."

He nodded and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I understand. I didn't know the school was like this…"

"I did not expect you to know that. You were not here long enough and we painted a very rosy picture for you. Master Sensei wants you to stay, though. This is why he asked me to teach you. He knows that you trust me and he knows that you would feel comfortable with me as a teacher. He is trying to manipulate us both."

"Wow, Yori, I really didn't know it was like that here. Master Sensei seems so nice…" he muttered and trailed off, going through his mind what he knew about Master Sensei. He paused on a few memories. "But…I can see what you mean about him manipulating situations for things to work out to his advantage. I mean, that move with Hana, giving her to my parents by pretending to be an adoption agency, what the hell was that all about?"

"That is just one of his many manipulations and it was very mild compared to others. I beg of you to watch out for Hana too. He is going to want her back soon, to train her to become a ninja for Yamanouchi. I do not wish this life for her," Yori implored him, eyes shining with tears and pleas.

"I'll do my best. It's hard to look out for her since I don't go to school in Middleton. I mean, she's at home with my parents all the time. When do you think he's going to want her back?"

"Soon more than likely. He is going to want to train her young. It will let the…brainwashing as Shego calls it…set in. Because of things that he told me as a child, I was the perfect ninja until I met Shego. Everything was my honor to do because it would bring honor to this school and to the man that saved my life, but I know differently. I do not want this for Hana."

Ron nodded; he totally agreed. There was no way in Hell he was going to allow anyone to use his little sister, especially if it was to kill people. "I tell you what, I'm going to make a call to my parents as soon as I can and tell them that you're going to come see Hana. I'll tell them that you're basically her sister and you've been looking for her. That way you can spend time with her and protect her in case any ninjas show up while I'm not around."

Yori's mouth dropped open and she grinned for the first time in days. "Would you?"

"Of course I would! You said she was like a sister to you anyway. You should get to see her then."

"Oh, thank you, Ron-kun!" Yori threw herself into him, hugging him tightly.

"Careful. This is how we got into this mess in the first place," he remarked, even though he returned the embrace.

"Thank you so much, Ron-kun. I have missed Hana very much."

"I'm sure you have. Like I said, you did say she was like your sister. You should see her, then. So, I'll make the call for you as soon as I get out of here. Which is probably going to be tomorrow, so I can go see Kim as soon as possible and show her I'm not as screwed up as I was the last time she saw me."

Yori laughed, more because of his goofy expression than his words. They pulled apart and stared at each other for a few seconds. They both then nodded, as if reading each other's thoughts, deciding that they were much better as friends and they preferred things that way.

"I'll call you when everything's taken care of," Ron said, remembering that he did have her cell phone number.

"Good. I might be occupied for the next few days. I have another mess to fix," Yori commented.

"Sorry about that again."

"Think nothing of it. You were not the only one that acted. Besides, I had other issues. This one merely helped everything come out and straighten things out. So, once again, you have helped me in a most unconventional manner, Ron-kun," she quipped with a pleasant smile.

"I need to start helping in better ways because last time I crushed your spirit and this time I ruined your relationship."

"It is still help. I am glad that I have you in my life, Ron-kun."

He smiled and they hugged again. After that, they bid each other farewell. Ron started packing his things while Yori had to go make one more late night visit. She hoped that it would be the last time that she ever saw Master Sensei too.

Yori decided to show that she was a much better ninja than she ever actually showed before. She slipped into Master Sensei's personal chambers undetected by the guards. She entered the room to find Master Sensei sitting at his desk with his back to her.

"Sensei," she said, knowing that he was aware of her presence.

"Yori, you are becoming much like that woman you brought here, sneaking around places that do not concern you and showing no regard for the rules," he commented in a neutral voice.

"You sold me to her," Yori stated. It was not an accusation, just an observation. She was a tool, a tool could be sold just like any other object. She could only wonder how much she was worth to him and to Shego. _How much money did Shego part with to do this for me?_

Master Sensei let out a long breath, as if he was sighing. She knew it was an act. He was about to act grandfatherly toward her, but she knew that he did not give a damn. He was just a good actor, but she was starting to see right through the act.

"It was a contract, like always. Nothing more than that," he informed her.

"A contract for life. I thought you wanted me here to teach Ron-kun," she pointed out. She was not even upset that he lied to her. He was a liar, so she expected that much from him.

"You can still stay. She has not called you away on any business and if she did, I would merely tell her that you were unavailable at the moment. There are ways around these things, Yori. The school just required funding and I was able to get it because this woman was interested in you, but there are ways around it."

Yori shook her head, so now not only was he lying to her, but he was trying to figure out ways to steal her services after selling her to Shego. "No, there are no ways around it. You sold me to her and she requires my services. The honorable thing to do is to go to her. I am going to her, sensei."

"Yori—"

"Goodbye, sensei. Thank you for all the good you have done me," she said and with that she vanished from sight. She was done with the lies, done with her strings being pulled, done with regret, and done with being something less than human. She was not going to be a tool to be used and put away anymore.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: the conclusion.


	8. Lovehate relationship

I don't own these characters; Disney does.

8: Love/hate relationship

Shego was vaguely aware of Drakken talking, but she was not sure what he was saying. His voice sounded liked an annoying hum in the background of her unfocused mind, like a washing machine running and she tuned it out. She was reclined in a chair, trying to read a magazine, but her heart was not in it. Her heart was not in anything the last couple of days, but she was trying her best to work around that.

"Shego, are you listening?" Drakken inquired with a light stomp of his foot. He knew the answer to that, but he wanted to see if she was going to admit it for once.

"No, Doctor D, I'm not listening. In fact, I couldn't give a good goddamn what you're talking about," she informed him as if it was the most logical thing to say.

Drakken yelped, not expecting that blunt and honest answer. He wondered where it came from; it was not Shego's usual style, after all. She did not stick around to explain, tearing herself away from her chair and storming out of the room. He just stood there, even though he wanted to chase after her, but he knew not to bother her right now.

Her moods had been horrible for the last couple of days. Drakken had a feeling it had to do with Yori not coming back. He knew that his assistants were close, considering how much they hung out together and almost never wanted to take him along. He wondered what he might be able to do to get her back on her feet.

Shego was not taking Yori's absence well, and he knew that it had to be even worse since he was actually noticing it. Now, Shego was always a bit of a crank, but this was so far beyond what he was used to. She seemed depressed today while yesterday she had seemed depressed and aggressive. He was glad she was not cursing at him anymore and he was maintaining a healthy distance from her because she had manhandled him yesterday after he got on her nerves. He had bruises to go with being cursed out.

He thought that getting back to business as usual would help Shego's mood, which was why he was pitching a plan to her; he had done that a few times since her return. Unfortunately, she was not paying him any mind, so he chalked up his try as a failure. He sighed and threw himself in his seat, trying to think of something else to bring Shego out of her funk.

He knew that he could not get Yori back. The school had contacted him and told him that the contract was being canceled. They did offer to send another ninja, but he was not too sure if he was ready to replace Yori so quickly. Hey, she was more than a ninja. She had been with them for a year, and for that year it had been just the three of them. They worked together…and did karaoke together. He could not just replace her like she was a burned out light bulb.

He had a feeling that Shego would not take kindly to Yori being replaced so soon either. Dealing with her if he did hire a new sidekick too quickly would not be pretty and Drakken was not looking forward to that because he knew things would go beyond her normal tantrums. So, he would be patient for the first time in his life and wait for Shego to return to her normal self.

-8-8-8-8-

Shego went and took a long shower, hoping that it would help relax her tight muscles. The warm rain of the shower did not ease any of the tension from her body. Her guts still felt like they were twisted in tight knots, making her want to throw up. She was able to hold it down, but she still felt very sick.

She managed to make her way out of the shower and grabbed just her robe. She tied it loosely before crawling into bed, thinking that she might be able to sleep off all of her negative feelings. No, that had not worked last night, but she figured that eventually it had to work. She refused to believe that she would keep feeling as she did.

It just could not be possible to feel as if she was hit by a truck every day for a long period of time, she silently convinced herself. She hated that she even had to accept that she felt so much pain…because of Yori. She could not believe the absence of a person…the rejection of a person was making her physically ill.

"To hell with Yori," Shego declared loudly before flipping over and hitting her pillow hard with her head.

Emerald eyes closed with the hope that sleep would overtake her. She prayed for no dreams since last night all she did was dream of Yori and wake up in more pain than she had gone to bed with. Eventually, she had given up. She would do the same if history repeated itself.

Sleep came and the resting body tossed and turned. A cold sweat conquered the sleeping form that groaned and moaned as if a horrible fever took over her mind. The sight was being taken in by onyx eyes, looking on in sorrow and in agony. The owner of the eyes took a step toward the bed, but stopped suddenly.

The room was filled with mumbled sounds coming from the bed and the loud, anxious beating of a frightened heart. Light footsteps then joined those noises and cloth moving did the same. Suddenly all movement ceased.

Everything was still and quiet for what felt like an eternity, but was only a few seconds. Shego tensed and shot up, sitting at full alert. Green plasma illuminated the room, bathing everything in a gentle jade glow. It was only after igniting her hands did Shego realize there were arms around her and she turned to her left…and was certain that she was dreaming.

"Shego-chan…" Yori whispered, wanting to smile and cry at the same time.

"Yori…" Shego reached out with her unlit hand and touched the smooth cheek of Yori's face. She almost gasped as she felt soft flesh and realized that this was no dream. Yori was actually lying next to her. "What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded to know, pulling away from the ninja's embrace. Rage shot through her body, jump-starting her system, and making her want to lash out at the person that hurt her so much.

The ninja's eyes watered immediately, anguish tearing through her from the rejection. Her heart, mind, and soul cried out for contact from the woman that she loved, knowing it would soothe away all of her pain. She was aware that she had to handle things delicately or she would never experience that contact ever again and she would never stop hurting.

"Shego-chan…"

"Don't 'Shego-chan' me! Not in that pathetic little voice with those teary eyes, like I'm supposed to give a good goddamn!" Shego roared while ripping herself off of the bed, wanting more distance between her and her tormentor.

"Shego-chan, I am so sorry for everything that happened in the last few days! I cannot even begin to explain myself. I was so confused and mixed up!" Yori argued, sitting up completely and ready to move off of the bed.

"Oh, and suddenly you see everything with some great clarity? Did you consult the Buddha for that?" Shego snapped, glaring at the younger woman as if she committed the worst crime ever.

Yori flinched, not used to Shego being so openly snide with her. She took a moment to breathe and settle her wounded spirit, reminding herself that she brought this one herself and she needed to remain calm to fix this mess. She kept eye contact with Shego, who kept the room bathed in green light.

"I do see everything in great clarity. I see that I need you, that I love you. I never knew what it was like to love someone as I do you, nor have I ever known the type of love that you give me. Your desire for me, your want for me to have my own life and will is my reason to get up in the morning. I want everything that you want for me and I also want things for myself. I want to be with you," Yori declared passionately.

"And when your school comes a-calling?" Shego snarled.

"I am not tied to the school anymore. Thank you for buying my contract and then giving me my freedom," Yori said. Yes, Shego had purchased Yori from the school, but then left all the paperwork with her letter for Yori. The paperwork was her last gift to the ninja…or so Shego assumed, but Yori would like to prove that wrong.

Shego rolled her eyes. "I figured you'd give that shit right back to the damn school." She honestly thought that Yori would give all of that paperwork back to the school, even though she wished for Yori to take the papers and go live her own life the way that she wanted. It was up to Yori, though.

"No. I have it with me and that is what I would do if my school ever came calling. I would tell them that they no longer own me. I am my own person. I want to be my own person with you, though. You bring out the best in me. I am sorry that my best and my will went into retreat while we were at Yamanouchi. I was so overwhelmed…and it all happened so fast…" A sob erupted from the ninja's throat.

"You've got a lot of nerve crying! What do you have to cry about?" Shego demanded in a roar, throwing her hands out in angry, causing the light in the room to shift and brighten as her fury charged through her.

"I am crying because I fear I have lost you! I need you so much, I want you so much, and it hurts deeply knowing that I might have lost you because of my inability to think. I am begging you…begging you! Forgive me!" the ninja pled, tears pouring down her face and her hands thrown out like a beggar.

Yori picked herself up from off of the bed and took shaky steps toward Shego. The pale woman was set to flee farther, but decided to stand her ground. She wanted to see what the kunoichi's next move was. She was not sure why, but she was surprised when Yori halted right in front of her and dropped to her knees, bowing down to the thief.

"What happened? Did your pretty boy buffoon decide to stick with Miss Perfect?" Shego sneered, her words as venomous as the glare that she was giving the younger woman.

Yori's eyes searched the floor for a moment, confused by the names. When realization dawned on her, she was able to answer. "I rejected him. He is my friend, my first friend. Our actions were wrong and I will make no excuses for them. If you wish for me to explain why it happened, I will."

"Tell me…was I not enough?" Shego asked, accidentally adding that last bit. She sounded so quiet, small, and scared.

"No! You are more than enough! My mind was just whirling and I thought that I would be staying at the school. I was…I was giving up," she confessed in a sorrow tone. "I just was going to give up."

"Why?"

"I felt powerless and that it was the honorable thing to do…or so I thought at the time. I thought that I should be loyal to the school then."

"And now you think that you should be loyal to me?" Shego demanded in a tight voice. "I should've been first! Now, all of a sudden I'm at the top of the fucking list! Why? Because I bought your fucking contract?"

"Of course not! How could you even say that?"

"Because not even three days ago you didn't give two damns about me and now all of a sudden I come first? Give me a fucking break! Why now?" Shego screamed, needing reasons like she needed air.

"You are right! You should have been first, but I did not realize that until you were gone! I can live without the school, but I cannot live without you! I am not alive without you! I am best with you!"

Shego growled and made a tight fist. She then leaned down and snatched Yori to her feet by her shirt collar. The ninja almost flinched, but caught herself; a whimper did escape her throat because she did not know what the raging thief might do. They stared at each other hard; Shego glared down at the younger woman like she was trying to set Yori on fire with her eyes. Tears continued to flow from Yori's eyes, imploring her lover to believe her.

"I love you…" Yori whimpered, voice cracking with sincerity.

"You figured that out on your own?" Shego inquired because it did not seem like something that Yori would know without help.

"I did. I am in love with you, Shego." Yori insisted, eyes begging to be believed and her voice was desperate.

A snarl tugged at Shego's lip, looking as if she had been thoroughly insulted. "How the hell do you know? How the fuck do you know what the hell love is? A fucked up a kid like you wouldn't know love if it bit you in the ass!"

Yori winced as if she had been punched in the face, but she quieted her hurt by silently telling herself that she deserved Shego's wrath considering what she put the thief through. "I know that I am in love with you because of all the emotions that went through me when you pushed me away, when you ran out of my life! What I feel for Ron-kun could not even be compared to what I feel for you!" Her voice cracked and fear caused her to tremble, thinking that it was possible for Shego to send her away. She did not know what she would do without Shego in her life and she did not want to think about it.

Shego was quiet and still, her body shaking just as much as the kunoichi's form. Yori was patient, but her tears did not cease. Her eyes shined through the tears, imploring that they try again. Shego felt something inside of her splinter while looking into the begging eyes of the younger woman. She could practically hear her anger shatter, overcome by so many other emotions. Slowly, Shego wrapped her arms around the ninja and held her. They both breathed sighs of relief as they were pressed against each other.

"I need you too. I hate it, but I want it too. I hate what you can do to me, but I love what you do to me too," Shego whispered into the ninja's ear. She held Yori close to her, as if she was scared that Yori was going to flee from her again. She could not let that happen, she told herself. She could not let Yori go. "But, you should know that I won't take this a second time," she said in a low, serious tone.

"I never meant to hurt you and I will do my best to never hurt you again," Yori muttered, burying her head into the thief's collarbone.

"I know." Shego kissed the top of Yori's head.

"I will never take you for granted again and I will fight for us from now on. I know what I need and I know what is best for me. I will always fight for us."

Shego nodded to show that she believed Yori. She had to believe Yori because she was too emotionally tired to fight anymore. Besides, she thought it said a lot for Yori to have come back to her so quickly; maybe Yori was finally breaking the spell the school had over her. Shego found that she was not only willing to take the risk, but that she had to because she wanted this pain to just go away.

They stayed like they were, wrapped in each other's arms, for a long time; time really meant nothing to them at the moment. Eventually, they ended up back in bed, curled against each other. They fell into a deep, peaceful sleep with their hands, feet, and limbs entangled as if they were afraid that if they were not touching the other would vanish as they slept.

Upon waking, Yori stared at Shego as if she was trying to will her awake. It seemed to work because Shego stirred a couple of minutes later. Yori smiled before placing a gentle kiss to a willing mouth.

"Shego-chan…there are some things that I wish to tell you," the ninja said.

Shego groaned. "You have to make your confession so early in the morning?"

"I want you to know everything about me, just like I want to know everything about you."

Shego yawned and nodded. She quietly listened as Yori explained some of the worse things that she had to go through while living at Yamanouchi, but also some of the best. She did want Shego to understand that things had not been all bad; Shego already knew that, but she let Yori recount everything. She held the younger woman when Yori teared up as she spoke out taking lives for the school; she had slain three people in her life and hated herself for it.

"It's okay, cherry blossom. It's okay," Shego whispered onto her ear while rubbing her head.

"I was a puppet…a tool…" Yori sniffed.

"You aren't that anymore, though. You weren't responsible for your actions then either. You were a tool and if someone uses a hammer to kill someone, it's not the hammer's fault," Shego tried to assure her lover. God, she had a lot of work ahead of her with Yori, but she was going to stick it out. She had to; she needed Yori as much as the ninja needed her.

Yori nodded, but her tears continued to flow. "I have a little sister…"

"A sister?" Shego echoed in shock. It would seem that her cherry blossom had been keeping a lot of things secret for the past year.

"Well, she is not related to me by blood and I have not seen her in almost two years, but I took care of her when she was a baby. Master Sensei gave her to Ron-kun's family," Yori explained.

Shego snorted in anger. "Why do I have a feeling this is more of his manipulative bullshit?"

"I am not too sure what his plan is by having the two together, but Hana is probably more powerful than Ron-kun, even if he masters his monkey powers. I know Master Sensei would want those powers on the side of Yamanouchi, just as he wanted Ron-kun."

"Do you want me to get her back for you?" Shego asked, already working out a plan to steal the child.

Yori shook her head. "Ron-kun and his family love her as their own. I would not deny them that. Ron-kun has promised to speak with his parents, so that I might be able to visit her and I have promised to protect her from Yamanouchi when they decide to take her back. Would it be too much to ask you to come with me when I do visit?" she asked, hope shining in her eyes.

"No, it wouldn't be asking too much. I'll also be there with you when you have to protect her. I know a thing or two about being a big sister too, so I'll help you out with her."

"You're a big sister?" Yori asked in shock.

Shego chuckled a bit. "I guess there's a few things I need to tell you."

Yori smiled and cuddled up into Shego as the thief started talking about her past, stunning the ninja with the news that she was once a hero. She talked about her brothers and her split with them. She even confessed that she missed them from time to time.

"Perhaps…we could visit them. I would like to meet them," Yori said.

"We'll see about that. I need to prep you before you meet my crazy kin. You make sure you let me know when Stoppable calls you with the okay to see your little sister. We'll go over there that day, okay?"

Yori grinned and was so overjoyed that she could not speak. So, she went with something better than talking and kissed Shego soundly on the lips. After that, she settled comfortable against the older woman.

"You are a wonderful person, Shego-chan."

"Nah, you make me that way. Now, as much as I hate to say this, but let's get out of bed and get showered. After that, I'm going to treat you and Drakken to some breakfast."

"Treat Drakken?" Yori echoed with a puzzled expression. She could not recall the last time her girlfriend was openly nice to their employer.

"Yeah, the goof's been trying to cheer me up since I got back, so I guess I can show him I noticed the effort."

Yori grinned and agreed. They got out of bed and prepared for the day. Drakken almost jumped into orbit when he saw Yori and could not stop babbling because of his joy. It did not help matters when Shego invited him out with them and he rambled all the way through breakfast, smiling like the happy madman he was through it all. Shego and Yori just let him go; Yori was even polite enough to pay attention to him every now and then. To complete the day for Drakken, Shego actually went to karaoke with him and Yori…She refused to sing, though.

And true to her word, Shego went with Yori when Ron called and said that his parents thought it was a great idea for Yori to visit with Hana. Yori burst into tears when she saw how big the child had gotten since she last saw her. Hana was a toddler, going to be four soon, and she did not remember Yori at all, which got a new set of tears from the ninja.

"It's all right," Shego whispered to Yori while rubbing her shoulder. "She'll get to know you again," she promised. She then turned her attention to the Stoppables. "Would it be all right for us to take her out for about an hour? Just so Yori can get a little time in with her?"

"How about we start small? Get to know her some place she's familiar with first. You don't want to take her out, only to have her cry the whole time because she's scared," Mrs. Stoppable reasoned. "I'm sure that would only hurt Yori more." From what Ron told her, she knew that he would want to spare Yori any more pain in regards to her little sister.

The green-skinned woman nodded to that logic. The Stoppables vanished somewhere in the house and Yori was able to start building her relationship with Hana all over again. Shego looked at the pair and shook her head while smiling. Drakken was going to get a kick out of this; there was a baby in their "evil family" now. As Shego watched Yori, sorrow gradually being replaced with joy, she could not help thinking how right everything was at the moment and she was able to let go.

"Let me show you two how to build something with blocks!" Shego suddenly declared while taking a seat with the pair, who were playing with building blocks. Yori smiled, which caused Hana to smile.

They did look like a little family, Yori noted, and she was thankful for that. She silently vowed to do everything in her power to protect her family and keep them together. She was going to be a sister to Hana, like before, and she was going to be the best girlfriend she could be for Shego. She was going to be her own person, she silently declared, and she reached over to take Shego's hand.

Shego looked down at the hand holding hers and then turned to the owner of the hand. She smiled at Yori and the expression held so much promise. They were going to make it.

-8-8-8-8-

The end.

A/N: Thanks to my betas, Ken-zero and Faioxromokitoma. Much love to them and to my readers. I'm going back to my padded cell now; hopefully, you'll all be back for the next story.


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